Leadership in Hospitality Industry

|Asks how and when |Asks what and why |

|Has an eye on the bottom|Has an eye on the |

|line |horizon ||Initiates |Originates |

|Accepts status quo |Challenges it |

|Does things right |Does the right thing |

(http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~ha100c-c/class/management/leadership/lesson1-2-

1.html)

In the beginning of development of the hospitality industry, when a lot of the hospitality organizations were family owned, leadership was associated with ownership. However, with a growth of hospitality organizations, a more broadly based approach to the appointment and development of leaders were needed. According to Walker, “the real key to leadership involves developing appropriate personality characteristics and the talents of other members of the organization” (Mullins, 1998, p. 403).

Moreover, “Walker identifies some of the most important indicators of the appropriate temperament for leadership:

. Self-control (leaders should be above average in their ability to exercise self-control).

. Sense of value (respect the intangible, spiritual side of life).

. Drive (a strong drive is an advantage in any assignment).

. Moodiness (the manager should be optimistic, cheerful and generally capable of maintaining morale and team spirit).

. Sensitivity (the one who is sensitive to himself is sensitive and to others, so have a high potential to managerial success).

. Defence of ideas (managers should be willing and able to support and defend their own ideas).

. Self-awareness (the person needing less recognition for individual contribution is more successful for managerial success).

. Balance (the ability to defend their ideas and a low degree of self- consciousness, coupled with a high degree of sensitivity to other people) (Mullins, 1998, p.403).

According to Mullins, a number of recent articles showed that the hospitality industry had occurred a dramatic change and that the importance and benefits of transformational leadership are more obvious.

“A lot of researches show that demographic style of leadership is more likely to produce effective performance from work groups. Also a human relations, people oriented approach is more likely to lead to job satisfaction and group cohesiveness” (Mullins, 1998, p.424).

However, it is not always that demographic ways of leadership are the best.

Sometimes, it happens that autocratic style of leadership is more effective.

“There is no one best style of leadership which will result in the maintenance of morale among the group members and high work performance.

There are many variables, which underlie the effectiveness of managerial leadership in the hospitality industry, including:

. The type and nature of establishment, its goals and objectives, and the organizational culture and climate