If you are already working in hospitality and interested in advancing into a leadership role, have you considered pursuing your Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)? Specifically, a DBA in Hospitality Leadership could help you build the traits and skills that define today’s most effective leaders. Read on to explore what it takes to become a successful hospitality leader in today’s dynamic industry.
The Evolving Demands of Hospitality Leadership
Largely due to the widespread availability of new technologies, the hospitality industry continues to change with the times. Perhaps more than ever, hospitality leaders benefit from proficiently adopting and integrating new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) — while continuing to cater to higher customer expectations and global trends. With all this in mind, leadership calls for both operational expertise alongside a sense of adaptability, agility, and vision.
Why Become a Leader in Hospitality?
There are numerous reasons to become a leader in hospitality, starting with the potential for career growth and influence. If your growth feels stagnant in your current position or you simply want to make a difference by driving innovation and shaping the guest experience in a positive way, you might consider pursuing a leadership role.
Additionally, becoming a reputable hospitality leader can be an ideal avenue for exploring exciting global opportunities as you work with other leaders across the world or potentially even make big career moves overseas. As a hospitality leader, you might also find it rewarding to help develop future generations of leaders within your own teams — doing your part to set the industry up for continued success and growth.
Effective Leadership Styles in the Hospitality Industry
If you’ve served in any kind of leadership role, you may be aware of some different leadership styles. Ultimately, however, leaders can be more effective and inspirational when able to adapt their style to fit the unique demands of their respective teams and environments.
Familiarize yourself with a few common leadership styles in hospitality below (and how you might synthesize different components into your own approach).
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leaders focus on aligning their team members with a single, shared vision. These leaders offer individualized guidance to team members as needed, serving as inspirational role models who truly empower teams to strive toward a mutual goal rather than micromanaging their every move.
In hospitality in particular, a study done in Malaysia found that transformational leaders may unify their teams under the common goal of delivering the best possible experience to guests.
Servant Leadership
Another leadership style commonly adopted in hospitality is known as servant leadership, where the needs of the team take priority, and everything else falls into place from there. Servant leaders prioritize employees and their well-being, ensuring that they have access to the resources they need to succeed. In a hospitality context, the idea is that when team members feel like they’re being taken care of, this in turn translates into a better experience for guests.
Democratic Leadership
Many leaders in hospitality adopt some variation of the democratic style, where team members are involved as much as possible in decision-making processes that could affect them. More specifically, democratic leaders regularly seek feedback from their teams — including them in everyday discussions and encouraging them to voice their opinions as much as possible.
In hospitality, this leadership approach can prove especially effective because employees are often on the front lines, interacting with guests directly. Thus, their insights and ideas can be invaluable in developing new policies and refining practices. One 2022 study of nearly 800 five-star hotel employees in Turkey found that perceived democratic leadership is positively associated with both organizational creativity and dissent (or the ability to voice concerns and solutions).
Situational Leadership
The hospitality industry, by nature, can be unpredictable. As a result, leaders may need to remain flexible in their approach to handling situations as they evolve. Adapting a situational leadership style allows leaders to carefully assess changing circumstances and tailor their approach as needed. In other words, this leadership style acknowledges that there is no such thing as a universal leadership style — and that all leaders should be prepared to shift from delegating and supporting to directing and motivating as the situation requires.
Top Leadership Skills Important for Hospitality
What does it take to be a confident and capable hospitality leader today? Consider these several essential skills that may help leaders effectively inspire and manage teams:
Communication Skills
Interpersonal communication, both verbal and written, benefits any hospitality leader. This means knowing how to speak to team members in a way that truly connects with them while sharing relevant information and inviting feedback. In addition, well-crafted written correspondence with team members and guests alike helps the leader relay information in a clear, efficient manner.
Financial Acumen
Hospitality management professionals are often responsible for ensuring that facilities operate within a specific budget, meeting certain financial goals along the way. With this in mind, hospitality business leaders are ideally equipped to understand and manage budgets, interpret financial reports, and make everyday decisions that will benefit the company’s bottom line.
Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking
Hospitality leaders are no strangers to problem-solving, as unexpected issues can (and often do) arise at any time in this industry. With strong critical-thinking skills and a creative mind, leaders can be quick to pinpoint and resolve issues before they turn into larger problems.
Cultural Competence
Working in hospitality means working with team members and guests from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Leaders with a strong sense of cultural competence know how to speak and interact with people from different cultures while fostering inclusivity and an overall welcoming environment.
Technological Proficiency
Today, hospitality businesses rely on more technologies than ever before. From property management systems to customer relationship management (CRM) platforms and everything in between, effective hospitality leaders know how to operate and leverage these technologies in their everyday work.
Negotiation and Relationship Management
Speaking of relationship management, establishing and maintaining strong relationships with team members and guests alike can help hospitality leaders build brand loyalty. These leaders may practice relationship management skills like active listening and emotional intelligence to strengthen bonds. Negotiation skills may be especially useful with suppliers and corporate clients.
Key Traits of Top Hospitality Leaders
In addition to the qualities listed above, inspirational leaders in the industry tend to demonstrate the following traits:
Visionary Thinking
Being a visionary thinker as a hospitality leader means seeing ahead to what’s coming next and preparing appropriately. These leaders, for example, may have the strategic foresight to anticipate an emerging trend and embrace it ahead of the competition, effectively setting their brands apart.
Emotional Intelligence
In hospitality management, exhibiting empathy and understanding of others’ emotions goes a long way. In doing so, leaders are better able to anticipate guests’ (and team members’) needs while potentially avoiding sources of conflict. Of course, emotional intelligence isn’t something that’s cultivated overnight but rather developed gradually over years in the industry.
Strategic Decision-Making
For any given challenge a hospitality leader may ~
Guest-Centric Mindset
The hospitality industry couldn’t flourish without guests. Industry leaders, then, understand that a guest-centric mindset is critical to long-term growth. Making decisions based on the needs, demands, and expectations of guests, hospitality leaders can set their teams up to thrive.
Talent Development
Retention is a notorious challenge throughout the hospitality industry, so this presents an imperative for leaders to find ways to keep their best talent happy and cultivate loyalty. One way they might do this is by striving to provide plenty of opportunities for talent development. This includes investing in employee training and professional development, creating clear career paths within the company, and cultivating a workplace culture where team members feel truly valued.
Why These Traits Matter for DBA Candidates
Honing these fundamental leadership and personality traits can help build future generations of leaders in hospitality — including those interested in earning a DBA. Not only do these programs tend to seek candidates who demonstrate significant leadership experience in their field; completing a rigorous DBA program could also be an excellent way for leaders to sharpen these skills while strengthening their understanding of various leadership styles and practices.
In a DBA degree program, students have the opportunity to prepare for executive-level positions through real-world problem-solving, research, and data-driven decision-making to implement innovative solutions.
Building Leadership Excellence Through a DBA in Hospitality
A DBA program empowers students to refine and elevate essential leadership traits by providing opportunities for their practical application. Students pursuing this doctoral degree with a hospitality focus explore competencies they can leverage at the executive level or even positions in higher education through coursework in topics such as:
- Business strategy and innovation
- People management
- Strategic growth
- Integrated leadership
At the same time, students enjoy ample opportunities for professional networking and research, which could lead to advanced career opportunities and long-term leadership impact in the hospitality industry. Plus, a key outcome of the DBA program is to develop a scientifically and academically rigorous dissertation, backed by faculty advisement. Spanning the stages of proposals through chapter completion — and culminating in a dissertation defense — the doctoral dissertation process revolves around applied research intended to make a positive difference within graduates’ respective organizations or industry.
Learn to Lead in the Hospitality Industry With a DBA
Looking to take your hospitality leadership skills to the next level? It could be time to pursue your DBA in Hospitality Leadership from Johnson & Wales University Online. In this three-year, 100% online program, you’ll have the opportunity to explore coursework in topics like talent acquisition, sustainability, leadership, and much more.
For more information about completing your degree online, complete the Request Info form, call 855-JWU-1881, or email [email protected].
