Introduction
The interpersonal communication problem being explored is ‘How to lead without authority for hotel manager’. In all workplace context including hotels, communication is the main form of interaction between people. Leading with authority can bring about unpleasantness in the workplace environment which can sour relationships and teamwork among employees as well because it promotes a working environment that is not open and receptive.
According to an interview with a staff at Naumi Liora, the guest relations officer concurred with this idea and commented “He (her senior colleague) doesn’t boss around, he doesn’t put in a way like he is more senior than me. He can lead me to do things without making feel like I am inferior.” She further elaborated that some colleagues tend to have adopted a more authoritative attitude in ordering others to complete certain tasks which made the recipient feel unappreciated.
Judging from the comment above, employees may feel demoralized and unenthusiastic about work due to fear and authority instilled by managers. Therefore, it is important for managers to practice leading without authority as it can facilitate communication and cooperation among employees. If done well and correctly, it can help to improve interpersonal communications and promote a healthier working environment.
Workplace Context
The specific workplace context chosen for study is in a hotel, where interpersonal communications occur daily, especially between operations departments. The front office and housekeeping managers communicate the most in hotel operations as they have to handle guests’ requests when received and be able to pass down the message to the respective departments accurately.
Being students of the hospitality industry, choosing the hotel as a workplace context can be more relatable as well. This can also serve as a reminder for all students who may become managers in the future.
Nature of Project’s Professional Importance
In hotels, managers are usually the main contact person when handling guests. Behind the counters, the managers are also the middle person in most organizations’ hierarchy, in between the operational staff and higher management. This means that the managers are also the middleman who facilitates communication within the organization, thereby sometimes resulting in the need to activate the authority button as a convenient outlet.
An article titled “Learning to Lead Without Authority” (Great Work Cultures, 2016) stated that real leaders bring genuine impact to their communities without hierarchy by realizing that the true force of an organization or hotel is front line staff who are in charge of daily operations. This trait is crucial as most employees or subordinates often look upon managers and learn from them through mentoring or coaching. Hence, it is important for managers to set a good example so as to strengthen teamwork and coordination among employees.
Objective and Scope of Study
The objective and scope of the study are to showcase the difference between someone who leads with and someone who leads without authority. There is a need to understand the undesirable consequences of leading with authority and how it affects people within the workplace environment. It helps to raise awareness about this issue to prevent such situation from arising before it results in any interpersonal communication breakdown in a workplace.
The training video will highlight the available alternatives should someone subconsciously lead with authority. While our main target audience is hotel managers, part of the training video hopes to educate subordinates to recognize that their superior is leading with authority and thus identify it as a problem, and not succumb to its negative effects.
Proposed Research Method
In order to justify the existence of such interpersonal communication problems in the hotel workplace context, there are several proposed data collection methods that would be used. Related online articles and academic journals were used as secondary research sources. As for primary sources, an interview conducted with one of Naumi Hotel’s staff was also used to show the existence of the interpersonal communication problem.
Thematic Focus
The project’s thematic focus would be on a training video that showcases three scenarios that commonly happens in a hotel workplace. It involves the interaction between managers and their staff. Bad examples of leading with authority would be compared and contrasted with a good example of leading without authority for each scenario. This would allow the audience to be able to understand the difference and then learn from the good examples.
The three scenarios are mainly focusing on (1) showing empathy towards your staff; (2) being a listener during daily meetings; and (3) delegating tasks to your staff. The training video will end off with a summary, re-emphasizing the good examples and informing audiences the Dos and Don’ts in order to lead without authority.
Solutions
Solutions suggested for the three potential problems identified include the following:
- Showing empathy towards your staff – According to Horwitz (2013), There are valid explanations for an incident, managers should manage their own biases and adapt to the different listening styles of employees. Managers should be empathetic towards staff, especially newly recruited staff, and guide them along with any mistakes so as to allow them to learn from experiences instead of reprimanding or telling them off for not performing well.
- Being a listener during daily meetings – Managers should always involve staff in daily meetings by asking for suggestions with regards to any issues that arose. In the case of complaints, managers should listen to staff’s explanation before reprimanding them.
- Delegating tasks to your staff – Managers should let staff have a say in their work involvement by asking for any volunteers or anyone who are willing to take on the tasks, instead of delegating it to them without asking for their opinions.
Benefits to the workplace
The benefits of studying this topic can allow managers in hotels to learn how to lead without authority. The training video can let managers be aware of the detrimental effects of leading with authority, how it would affect the workplace and then the ways to prevent it from happening.
As operational staff in hotels usually take instructions from managers, it is important for managers to not lead with authority so as to provide a more conducive and supportive environment. As stated in the article “How to lead without authority” (Dodds, 2016), the less authoritative operational managers are, the more control and trust they give others, the more willing and encourage the staff or subordinates would be to perform well at work. This, in turn, can positively affect the service level of staff and hence benefit the hotels as well in terms of having a good reputation and brand name.
In terms of benefits for employees, leading without authority can promote a positive work environment where all staff and managers can contribute towards discussions by giving feedback. By doing so, it can allow the hotels to have a healthy communication platform. This is very crucial as communication is part and parcel of every working environment. Having a healthy communication platform can also help to reduce conflicts and improve team dynamics.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the training video hopes to better portray the effects and outcome of leading without authority, through which, to alleviate and prevent the vicious cycle of hotel managers contributing to an unhappy work environment due to their lack of understanding of the detrimental effects of leading their subordinates with authority. This training video hopes to change that mindset and create a better working culture in hotels.
References
Dodds, C. (2016, August 8). How to lead without authority. Retrieved from BestTech.io: https://besttech.io/how-to-lead-without-authority-e10036b95958#.5rcq5ycup
Great Work Cultures. (2016, July 27). Learning to Lead Without Authority. Retrieved from The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/great-work-cultures/learning-to-lead-without_b_7883062.html
Horwitz, R. (2013, June 11). 9 Ways to Influence Without Authority. Retrieved from HRVoice.org: http://www.hrvoice.org/9-ways-to-influence-without-authority/
BHB 2802 Career & Professional Development II 