LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

What Four Seasons Expects From Its Supervisors

By John O’ Sullivan

What is Management?

A Simple Definition:

Making things happen through the joint performance of others co-operating together.

Managing Leading

Planning Organizing Directing Controlling

Empowering Motivating Coaching Rewarding

The Four Seasons Difference

A hands-on, non-administrative, and proactive vs. reactive approach.

Uncompromised attention to core standards.

Every single employee (including those in overhead and administrative areas) accepts an obligation to prioritize and participate in ensuring guest satisfaction.

The Cornerstones of Our Culture

Mutual respect Universal excellence Common Sense

The Differences Between Being a Supervisor and a Line Employee Accountability for results vs simple effort Relationship with employees must now be

exclusively professional There is no “off the clock” There is no “off the record” You represent the hotel in your conduct You lose a great deal of freedom – as a

management employee, you now represent the Company and Hotel in what you say and do

Your responsibility as a supervisor

By accepting a management position, you are accepting a responsibility to be a consistent and positive influence in support of the Company’s and Hotel’s goals, especially down the line and among your peers, and to role-model the behavior inherent in the Company’s culture. You can now only complain up the line, but not down.

Emotional Resilience and Maturity Detaching yourself emotionally from your

subordinates. to the extent that they will accept your enforcement

of discipline without resentment. so that you make no emotional demands.

Accepting that – in an organization committed to a zero-defect product - you will receive less and less external motivation (fewer strokes) as you move “up the line”, and hear more about what needs fixing.

Avoidance of Harassment

You must avoid behavior that is or could be perceived to be harassing

You are automatically in the wrong if an employee is offended by: Touching Questionable or foul language Off-color humor Sexual innuendo A voice raised in anger

Expansion of time - horizon

Regular Employee: next 8 hours Department Head: next 7 days Division Head: next 30 days General Manager: next 12 months Senior Vice-President: next 5 years Chairman: next 50 years!!

Recognize the needs of multiple stakeholders

Guests Employees Owners Other third parties (vendors, agents) Local community/charitable organizations Four Seasons and other properties’ guests and

employeesThink globally vs. territorially

Watch for Icebergs

Guest Experiences must be quickly addressed by a short-term, “quick-fix” that impresses guests with our level of concern and intensity

They must be followed by a longer-term look for root causes, to ensure that the same problem does not re-occur

Supervisors Trump Companies

The talented employee may join a Company because of its world-class reputation, great benefits or outstanding leaders, but how long that employee stays and how productive s/he is depends on her/his relationship with her/his immediate supervisor more than anything else.

The Supervisor as Catalyst

Select the right person Select for Talent and Fit – Not just

Experience, Intelligence, Determination Set Expectations

Define outcomes and desired results more than process

The Supervisor as Catalyst (ctd)

Motivate the Person Focus on Strengths more than Weaknesses

Develop the Person Help find the right fit, not just the next rung on

the ladder

A Summary of Motivating Behavior

Keep your word and don’t overpromise so that your behavior reinforces trust

Be as technically proficient as you can Role-model the behavior that we preach,

especially as it relates to being hospitable and providing guest service

A Summary of Motivating Behavior (ctd)

Maintain your emotional control Know your employees as individuals Take responsibility for your own actions

Admit mistakes Don’t blame others

A Summary of Motivating behavior (ctd) Don’t dwell on differences in rank; wear your

authority lightly and keep your ego in check. Reinforce the self-esteem of your people Talk the language of inclusion

“we” vs. “me” “our” vs. “my”

Be fair and consistent; let approval be performance-based; don’t play favorites.

Steer clear of gossip

A Summary of Motivating Behavior (ctd)

Spread the credit for success; take personal responsibility for failure

Praise in public; discipline in private Develop responsibility “adult to adult” in

your people Keep everyone informed Be a good listener, and be accessible

A Summary of Motivating Behavior (ctd)

Make decisions – don’t sit on the fence. If you change your mind, say so.

Make everyone understand that their contribution counts

The Uncomfortable Eternal Truth

Trying to make people perfect is futile. People don’t change that much. Don’t waste too much time trying to put in what was left out. Try to draw out what was left in. This is hard enough.

Communication by Senior Managers with your Subordinates

You are not entitled to unconditional support if you are acting outside the Company’s value system. We have equal obligation to your subordinates.

Senior people (both Hotel and Corporate) will sometimes communicate directly with your people informally (open door) and formally (Direct Line/Opinion Surveys)

Intention of Direct Communication

To show that senior people care To enable senior people to stay in touch

with the front line and not live in an ivory tower

To speed up the solution of problems that are causing frustration

Open Door – The need to respect it

It only works if used sparingly It is not an invitation to interrupt or gossip Make sure information is communicated at

an appropriate level Do not copy e-mail “up the line”

unnecessarily

Managing Upwards

Everyone has a boss. Although it’s important to learn to manage

up , our primary focus must remain on managing down.

Managing Upwards (ctd)

Your boss is accountable for how you are managing; he has a right to ask questions.

Avoid leapfrogging without good reason. Keep your boss “in the loop” about any

communication you have had with his boss. Don’t let her/him get “blindsided”.

Avoid any pretence that your direct boss is inconsequential.

Managing Upwards (ctd)

Recognize that your boss’s time frame is further out than yours;

Don’t grandstand at your boss’s expense; Show her/him respect. S/he’s not likely to be

an idiot. If he/she is eventually found to be weak, you will be credited for having handled a tough situation maturely, and not made the problem worse.

Managing Upwards (ctd)

Remember that your boss may have more to deal with than you can see or know about.

Are you a net saver or consumer of your boss’s time?

Recognize that the more senior the manager, the more often s/he has to make decisions that are the “least bad of two disagreeable options”, and far from clear-cut. Don’t take cheap shots in criticizing the downsides of tough calls.