During more than two years of studies at Les Roches Marbella, I have come to understand a leader as being a person who inspires people and encourages them to follow him/her in achieving objectives while delegating a common mission with a shared vision. To become a leader, you must first learn to lead yourself because self-leadership helps create the vision while setting goals and developing strategies. This is followed by projecting responsibility for your team and leads to taking calculated risks that can affect and improve the success of each member.
In order for a leader of a team to succeed, it is crucial to earn the trust of the team members. Leaders should never simply act on what looks good or what others will think, they should not only use their individual intuition to make sound choices, but also take into consideration the overall team objectives together with each member’s personal well-being.
Successful leaders are made by the people who surround them, and how a leader relates to people and communicates their vision will determine the eventual outcome of their objectives. Additionally, it is important to listen and learn from others while never placing limits on the ability to make personal contact with the team members. Each member should be treated equally and problems should be addressed with an open approach that will help the team to solve them together while learning from each other’s mistakes. A leader sees problems and mistakes as learning opportunities, and they work optimistically with their team members to gain an advantage through open communication and mutual trust.
For me, these are the basic building blocks of a successful leader in the hospitality industry. If you strive to apply these tools in your career while being creative and disciplined, you will build an invaluable team that is willing to help you achieve your organizational goals.
