Unlike sectors that can hide behind automation or email, every interaction in a hotel, restaurant, or venue is a public performance, demanding not just efficiency, but genuine emotional agility. In this high-stakes environment, the traditional command-and-control structure is no longer enough. The simple truth is, your business cannot afford to confuse management with leadership.
Having effective leaders in your organisation is essential to maintaining high-performing, motivated, efficient teams. The stakes have never been higher: recent research shows that 70% of Gen Z employees are upskilling weekly, with soft skills like communication and leadership ranked as their top priorities—and 44% have already quit roles that felt meaningless. Discover what Gen Z and Millennials expect from hospitality employers. In an industry where two-thirds of the workforce will soon be under 40, leadership that inspires purpose isn't optional—it's survival.
This is why cultivating inspiring leaders, not just capable “command and control” managers, is crucial for the hospitality industry.
To do this however, means including soft skills in your training program like emotional intelligence, practicing active listening, offering mentoring and modelling behaviour.
What's the difference between management and leadership?
Management is about the ‘how.’
How to get staff to execute tasks to achieve a set of operational goals. Activities are goal driven and focused on administration, staffing and budgeting.
Management theory comes from manufacturing environments where hierarchy and command are deemed to be the most important skills.
Leadership on the other hand is about the ‘why.’
A leader is concerned about developing what the operational goals should be. Their activities are focused on creating a vision, aligning and motivating people, and driving change. A leader inspires people to achieve their vision.
“Manager is a title. It’s a role and set of responsibilities. Having the position of manager does not make you a leader. The best managers are leaders, but the two are not synonymous. Leadership is the result of action. If you act in a way that inspires, encourages, or engages others, you are a leader. It doesn't matter your title or position.” Doc Norton in Forbes
To effectively inspire, encourage, and engage others, the core of modern leadership, leaders must develop soft skills like Emotional Intelligence EI. EI enables leaders to exercise influence, navigate complex social dynamics, and motivate others beyond the mere demands of their role.
What skills do you need to be an effective leader?
To implement a robust hospitality leadership training program, focus on three pillars of behavioural development:
1. Cultivating Emotional Intelligence (EQ) for Service
EQ is paramount for hospitality leaders. Training should focus on the four components of EQ as defined by Goleman, but applied directly to the service environment:
- Self-awareness: Understanding one's own stress triggers during service failures and peak pressure times. (e.g., Simulation: Running a full dining room while short-staffed).
- Self-management: The behavioural skill of composure and de-escalation. Training involves immediate, scripted responses for handling irate guests without resorting to defensiveness. Leaders must personally role-model resilience and composure under acute operational pressure (like the "rush" period) to set a stable standard for the team.
- Social awareness (empathy): The ability to sense and interpret the "mood on the floor"—both among staff and guests. This enables anticipatory service.
- Relationship management: The behaviour of constructive feedback delivery. Training should use models like the Feed-Forward approach (from Marshall Goldsmith) to focus on future improvements rather than past faults, thereby preserving employee self-esteem.
2. Adopting a servant-leadership framework
While often viewed as an abstract concept, Servant Leadership, pioneered by Robert K. Greenleaf, translates directly into observable hospitality behaviours:
- Listening and empathy: The leader's behaviour is to actively seek input on operational obstacles before issuing directives. They should hold regular "obstacle removal" sessions.
- Stewardship: The leader behaves as a caretaker of the organisation's people and mission. This means prioritising team well-being over short-term managerial convenience (e.g., ensuring breaks are taken, not scheduling excessive back-to-back shifts).
- Commitment to the growth of people: Leaders must exhibit the behaviour of coaching—spending designated time each shift mentoring a team member on a specific skill, not just observing performance. They must support coaching and mentoring programs to help build individual competence.
3. Practicing "managing by walking around" (MBWA) with intent
While MBWA is an old managerial technique where you are visible amongst the staff. The leadership behaviour is how it's done.
- Intentionality: The leader’s action is not to audit or micro-manage, but to offer support and identify non-verbal cues (fatigue, frustration) from both guests and staff.
- Immediate coaching: If a procedural gap is observed, the leader’s behaviour is to offer a quick, private, in-the-moment coaching correction, immediately followed by positive reinforcement when the desired behaviour is executed.
By shifting training from theoretical knowledge to these precise, observable, and measurable behaviours, leaders in the hospitality industry can forge the resilient, empathetic, and effective leaders its high-stakes environment demands.
What real hospitality leadership looks like
Forget the corporate jargon. What truly defines a great leader in a hotel, restaurant, or event venue?
- Anticipation and problem solving under pressure: A leader shouldn’t just react. They should see potential issues before they escalate. This means spotting a disgruntled guest, noticing a bottleneck in service, or foreseeing staff burnout – and addressing it proactively.
- Empathetic communication: Hospitality is all about people. Leaders must be skilled in active listening, de-escalating tense situations with guests, and providing constructive feedback to staff in a way that builds morale, not crushes it.
- Servant leadership in practice: This isn't about being a doormat. It's about understanding that a leader's primary role is to support their team, remove obstacles, and ensure they have the resources to succeed. This might mean jumping in to clear tables, help with a check-in, or cover a shift when needed.
- Developing and empowering teams: Great leaders don't just delegate; they mentor. They identify potential in their team members, provide opportunities for growth, and empower them to make decisions, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility.
- Resilience and role modeling: The hospitality industry can be tough. Leaders need to demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges, maintain a positive attitude, and consistently model the behaviour they expect from their team – especially during peak times.
A behavioural approach to training
To cultivate these essential behaviours in the hospitality industry, leadership training programs need a fundamental shift from practical skills to behavioural ones.
Scenario-based learning
Ditch the endless PowerPoints. Instead, present realistic scenarios that leaders will encounter daily. How do you handle a double-booked reservation with an irate guest? How do you motivate a demotivated team member after a particularly rough shift? Role-playing and group discussions around these scenarios are invaluable.
Focus on specific skills, not just concept
Break down leadership into actionable skills. Instead of "improve communication," train on "active listening techniques," "delivering constructive feedback using the SBI (Situation-Behaviour-Impact) model," or "de-escalation strategies for guest complaints."
Peer coaching and mentorship programs
Learning from experienced leaders within the organisation is incredibly powerful. Establish formal mentorship programs where rising leaders can shadow seasoned professionals and receive regular, personalised guidance. Peer coaching groups can also provide a safe space to discuss challenges and share solutions.
Offer 360-degree feedback and personalised development plans
Leaders need to understand how their actions are perceived by their direct reports, peers, and superiors. Regular 360-degree feedback, combined with personalised development plans, helps identify areas for improvement and tracks progress.
"On-the-job" application and follow-up
Training shouldn't end when the workshop does. Implement mechanisms for leaders to immediately apply what they've learned. This could involve leading a new project, taking on a specific coaching role, or implementing a new process. Regular check-ins and follow-up sessions are crucial to reinforce learning and address challenges.
Using an online training platform, with courses that reinforce your workshops, and are accessible on a mobile app, are crucial for knowledge retention. Using micro-learning best practice principles, you can build e-learning modules that are easily accessible and ensure your team are fully supported in their role.
The return on investment (ROI)
The ROI from investing in effective leadership training for hospitality industry professionals can yield significant returns.
Empathetic leaders create truly service-oriented teams, ensuring a first-rate experience for every customer. Furthermore, the organisation benefits from higher employee retention because staff are far more likely to remain with the company when they feel properly supported, genuinely valued, and capably led.
This focus on capability also translates to increased productivity and efficiency, as proactive problem-solving and empowered teams help to streamline operations and deliver better results. Ultimately, leaders who fully embody the company's core values are instrumental in shaping a stronger, more positive, and productive organisational culture.
Building better leaders isn't about finding a magic bullet or a quick fix. Instead it should be about developing real-world behaviours through practical, engaging, and continuous training.
Allara Global offers leadership training pathways that deliver practical skills and build confidence to lead with clarity, empathy, and effective communication.
Get in touch with us to talk about developing a leadership training course for your venue and to see a demo.