Over 350 Interviews Reveal the Top 7 Leadership Skills Women Share
Leadership Skills
hertelier started as an idea and a "pandemic project" in March of 2021, and in just two years the platform has morphed into a movement, community, and source of inspiration and learning for women (and men!) in hospitality. What began as a hunch, that women were craving content relevant to them and their careers, has proven, in fact, to be a NEED.
Foreword
In celebration of International Women's Day and hertelier turning two, we've thought about the recurring themes and traits for success running through the over 350 articles and interviews we've done with women in hospitality.
Be curious. Curiosity is one of the most popular traits successful women mention. What does it mean in practice? Soak up information––can be from meeting people, reading, TED Talks, podcasts, whatever––and let yourself go down rabbit holes and learn from others. Gilda Perez-Alvarado credits her curiosity as a reason she is CEO of JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group, "I prefer to listen and interact. My curiosity is a quality that has enabled me to develop into the role I have now."
Be a great listener. Speaking of listening, this is another trait successful women mention often as a key to building consensus and leading teams. Anne Golden, who is GM and Regional VP for Pan Pacific Hotels, is a proponent of the idea of "servant leadership," meaning that her role as a leader is to actually serve the people who work for her. "How can I make them successful in their jobs? How can I offer them support?"
Speak to express not to impress. This is a theme columnist Nancy Mendelson turns to time and again, but was also mentioned by Amanda Hite, President of STR, the world's largest hotel data company. As Valerie Ferguson, head of resort operations at Disney, said, "Remember this: you wouldn’t be in the room if your voice, your knowledge, or your perspective wasn’t needed." If you're scared to speak up, Valerie says to "think of speaking up as a muscle you need to work," and she offers 4 tips for speaking up in meetings.
