Leadership Insights

In hospitality, we spend a great deal of time talking about employee engagement, recognition, retention, and culture. But perhaps there is a more fundamental question we should be asking: Do our people actually feel like they matter? After years of leading in hospitality, I have come to believe that some of the most important moments of leadership are also the easiest to overlook. Mattering is rarely created by an awards banquet, an employee-of-the-month program, or a once-a-

After decades in hospitality, one leadership lesson has become increasingly clear to me: Hiring talented people is only half the job. Creating an environment where they can actually lead is the other half. In hotels, we ask our leaders to make hundreds of decisions every day—often in real time. A guest is unhappy. A ballroom needs to turn faster than expected. A restaurant suddenly gets slammed. An employee needs guidance. A major group changes its requirements. An operationa

In the hospitality business, the idea is especially powerful because winning the immediate challenge can sometimes cost you the guest, the employee, or the long-term relationship. In the hotel business, great leadership is not about winning every battle. It is about knowing which battles matter—and keeping your focus on the larger objective. There will always be moments when we are technically right: a guest may be wrong about what was promised, an employee may challenge a de