We’re All Leaders – A New Leadership Model – Leading From All Areas of Your Organization
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” —Ronald Reagan
As a professional coach, I have been introduced to a new leadership model at the Coaches Training Institute and in this article, I will explain the Co-Active Dimensional Leadership Modeltm and how it applies so well to hospitality. CTI developed this leadership model in addition to their Co-Activetm coaching model. Both are incredibly effective platforms for building teams and leaders that see our world as one that is being built on the efforts and creativity of everyone, not the traditional leader – servant model we sometimes cling to in hospitality.
The leadership model fits hospitality so well because we are the very essence of a people focused business. Two of our three pillars are guests and colleagues so the ability to create a stronger foundation to ensure were all contributing our service and leadership has a compound effect in hospitality. Imagine a world inside your business where traditional roles and positions fade into the ether because they’re not required. This is entirely possible with a model that has leadership coming from and going on in all areas of your organization.
Here is the basis for the model and its five dimensions. What’s important to realize is the model’s five dimensions all are the same size and they move freely within the container that you create inside your business. No dimension in this model is bigger or trumps the other. That sounds like great things are happening while the boss is away and the boss’s role becomes one of the enabler. Letting all people in the organization step forward and give their gifts. When this happens, we compound the impact they have and we create a perpetual leadership fountain.
Leading from within. This is at the core of the model and it means that the leadership is something instilled in all the people in the organization. The actions and the way people are being inside the organization take on a level of ownership that promotes actions akin to “do unto others as you would do unto you”. We all treat each other, our clients as we would want to be treated. We operate at the same level of authenticity with our colleagues, peers, and managers. We act and model the same with our guests. We play this way all the time with everyone when the boss is here or not makes no difference. We’re all on the same page. We all make a difference and we ultimately know that we’re part of the fabric, not the pattern itself. If you could see how people operate, think and create at this level you would not be able to discern the different traditional roles. What you would see would all look the same. People’s actions and efforts would seamlessly melt together producing a core operating system. No winners or losers, no right or wrong, no better or worse, just a true level playing field. Simply put a way of being that is rich and alive.
Leading from the front. This is what we would traditionally compare to the organizational boss. But here in this model, it takes on a completely different tune. Leading from the front means leading by being the one who emulates the values by giving and leading in a way that puts others needs first. Serving by creating a commitment to others success, growth, full potential and ultimately their prosperity as a person first. Prospe rity means personal success. This has incredible power to transform people’s efforts and commitment to each other, their guests and the organization. If my very being is defined by how well my team and its members feel about their lives, their contribution and their personal success then my team becomes me. An extension of how I truly feel and operate is created inside each member of our team. My number one goal is to be the one who strives to ensure that others succeed, living their lives to their true potential. This might sound ultraistic or some version of Fantasy Island but it is the very core of hospitality. According to Wikipedia; “Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes hospitality in the Encyclopédie as the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity.”
Leading from beside. “Nothing is more sapping as an employee or team member than to be told how slow you ran the race by someone who didn’t run it. It’s hard to hear how bad you did when there was no one around to answer your questions about how to do it better. You wind up with the motivation of a sloth.” Dan Black – On Leadership. Leading from beside in any endeavor is the very essence of wanting to move together. Energy, creativity, stamina, drive are but a few nouns that describe the results of this type of leadership. When we lead our teams into their battles from afar we miss the opportunity to experience the team phenomena. We create four key elements with our team when we lead from beside. The first thing we learn is what we can improve if we’re not there this is now a perished experience. Second up is the ability for everyone to learn when we lead from beside. Learning happens when we do and the being part is what gets expanded. Greater capacity to really see and touch what our guests and colleagues experience expands our ability to be a better heartfelt leader. Third is the team effect. We’re part of the team when we lead from beside and teams can accomplish amazing feats when the team’s mojo is happening. I can point to the baseball world and the 2010, 2012, 2014 San Francisco Giants and their teamwork. How incredibly compelling and effective this team was at teamwork and leading from beside. Last is a benefit we really need more of these days, less stress. When were beside our team they feel the positive effects it creates. When were not beside our team we miss the opportunity to share their experience and this results in less engagement and ultimately a poorer result. The thing is, we know that without leading from beside were less effective. Today more than ever were pulled away by technology, by stakeholders and were missing the point of hospitality. Get back on the battlefield and you will see the powerful effects of being beside in your hotel.
Leading from behind. This is an incredibly exciting aspect of hospitality leadership. Knowing that the efforts of everyone involved make a huge impact on the result. There are superstars everywhere if we look and acknowledge them. “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory”, Nelson Mandela. In hospitality, so much of the action occurs behind the curtains, out of site of the guests and even out of the sights of many of our other colleagues. It’s easy to forget the night cleaners, the room attendants, the pot washer, the sauce cook, and the legions of others. We could not operate and even think of victory without the profound contributions of everyone. Leading from behind in hospitality means we bring these stories of service and contribution to the surface and we celebrate their courage, creativity, capacity, and impact. When even the most menial jobs get the spotlight, they shine with their own color. This color is soft and rich and as it flows magically throughout the house and we see how it lifts everyone up just a little higher every time. If we drop the ball on this leadership dimension we risk slipping into the darkness that could easily be averted. Leading from behind is about seeing everyone as a successful part of the entire experience. Putting their contribution into the overall performance gives it depth and strength.
Leading from the whole. We are the most impactful and engaged when we bring all of what’s naturally us to the game, leaving behind what we think others might be looking for from us. Trust ourselves that what we think, feel and do will make an amazing result. So much of what we think to do and feel is the result of an outside-in view of our world. Leading from the whole is an inside-out view and one that has us being ourselves and trusting ourselves. So much of our view of leadership is based on the need to look good and please others. The problem with this outside in approach is that it’s inauthentic, it lacks originality, there is no creativity and this all adds up to the biggest missing piece, our unique stamp. Knowing and trusting that what we uniquely have to offer is exactly what we need to deliver is the biggest challenge for most of us. Leading from the whole does not mean we are charging down the middle of the road ignoring all the signs. But it does mean we have our foot on the gas and were driving the real deal, us. Not some made up version of what we think we need to be. Leading from the whole is bringing our unique gifts and it’s also creating an environment where everyone is encouraged to also do and be the same.
Having a leadership vision for yourself is a powerful tool to guide you. Developing a leadership model inside your organization is a bold and creative endeavor. Knowing that the model for yourself and your organization is really one in the same is good news. Notice that the five dimensions described above all work together and they form the basic operating system of our lives and for that of our organization. We really want to ensure that the people around us thrive. When their lives work, it means we are succeeding. There is no greater accomplishment than to help make someone else’s life better. To make a difference in the life of someone else is a selfless act. Hospitality is all about making other lives and experiences better. This model allows the flow of this hospitality to expand in all directions inside the lives and experiences of your colleagues and guests. To say it’s good business is obvious.
In the hotel business, we have long held onto the adage, look after the guests and the money will look after itself. Well, now we can say look after my colleagues and they will look after the guests and the money.