The Real Impact of a Leader
Have you ever felt like what you’re doing doesn’t matter? Like, even though you’re the boss, you could skip work one day and no one would notice? It’s crushing.
You work hard and try to be a good leader. You stay late and do more than expected. But for what?! To qualify for an annual raise, to be the Leader of the Quarter, or just to keep your own boss happy?
Do you ever wish that you could be one of those leaders who changed people’s lives? To be the mentor they talk about decades later? That would be way better than a raise or sheet cake celebration! Do you ever want… more?
I have.
When I became the assistant general manager at a beautiful resort, it fulfilled a decade of work and dreaming. The general manager and I worked our butts off to build a team, improve our service and increase profitability at the hotel. In just a year, our service scores jumped by 50% and our team satisfaction was higher than the rest of the company.
But I felt useless.
The people on my team were the ones actually doing the work: carrying bags, cleaning rooms, bringing smiles, and creating memories. They were impacting people’s lives. Meanwhile, I just sat in my office fielding emails, watching the budget, and responding to reviews. Doubt crept in. Surely, any dummy can do this. I wanted to make people’s lives better, and here I was, just making some far-off stockholders happy.
I didn’t get into hospitality to work on spreadsheets! I wanted to be the hotelier who was so gracious that people remembered their kindness years later. I wanted to be the mentor who changed how people thought. I wanted… more.
Then, on my very last day, a man on our team let me in on the secret: I had changed his life.
Leaders Set Systems
The bellman, we’ll call him Ben, joined our team mid-season because we were short-staffed. Despite the challenges of getting up to speed at a new job, guests commented almost immediately about his great personality and service. It was such a lucky break to find someone so perfect for this job.
At the end of the season, Ben explained that it wasn’t him who deserved the credit, but me and the other leaders. I was confused, he was the star carrying bags and bringing smiles, not us. What was he talking about?
Early on, I systematized how I hired applicants. I started all my interviews trying to put them at ease and continued with a casual conversation sharing my vision, a view of a day in our life and trying to learn about their dreams. My goal was to figure out if I thought we could get along, not just recap their resume. I even had a little sheet to ensure I evaluated based on specific criteria and not how charismatic they were. When I checked references, I didn’t simply ask if they would rehire the applicant. I also asked what they learned about the applicant, how I could coach the applicant best - so I didn’t need to learn the same mistakes they did - and where I should place the applicant to maximize their strengths. Ben said the whole process, from start to finish, showed kindness and trust in a way he’d never experienced.
When Ben started, he thrived… because of how our leadership team set him up for success. For example, guests often asked for a bucket of ice to be brought to their room. The hotel was six stories tall, and the ice machine was in the basement. Without an elevator, that made for running a lot of stairs, a lengthy delay and shifts that felt like the worst punishment your gym coach threw at you. So we prevented this by placing coolers with bagged ice in supply closets on each floor. This didn’t just happen magically though. I had to be engaged enough to see the problems, care enough to do something about it, then try a few ideas, buy coolers, work with the team to figure out when to stock the coolers, and then get it on the checklist. But, once we had the system down, even the new guy could quickly become an expert. I hadn’t thought about that; it was just what I did.
Quick Takeaways:
Systems are the routines, tools, and lists you use to shape what gets done.
Without systems, success is haphazard and dependent on the perfect circumstances.
Insightful leaders can problem-solve and bring out the best in every team member.
Teams who feel effective gain pride, encouragement, and value from work with less frustration.
How you can apply this:
Research effective work habits and leadership. Not all advice is equal and success isn’t accidental.
If you’re creating a checklist, consider what to include and what to leave out. Both shape the operation.
The routines and habits you set shape the day. Does it create calm or chaos?
Leaders Shape Culture
Ben had never worked in a hotel—certainly not an upscale hotel where our bell staff wore kilts, servers were clad in ties, and everyone delighted guests with the lore of a majestic old hotel. I was surprised how quickly he caught on. He offered to help with guests’ bags, studied the history so that he could accurately present the significance of the hotel and made sure the floors were always mopped and shiny.
Looking back, I can see how the leadership team created a culture that helped bring these qualities out of Ben. We trained everyone on a concept I called “Granny Service:” treating every person as you would treat your grandma. To create excitement around great service, we read good reviews during most morning meetings and posted them weekly in the staff cafeteria. So when Ben joined the team, Granny Service was the air we breathed and he was surrounded by service experts.
Thoughtful systems reinforced our service and culture. They could be something simple like making a checklist to prevent issues or scheduling weekly meetings with each leader to help them address any sticky situations or hang-ups. My own task list grew at the end of every meeting as I worked to remove the roadblocks each team faced.
At the end of the season, Ben told me how the experience shaped his idea of service. He saw outstanding service in how we treated guests, but also in how we cared for the staff. He said that those miserable rainy days we closed the parking booth showed him that we cared more about him as a person than the parking tolls. And on the busy days when we helped in the parking booth, cleaning toilets or hauling luggage up the stairs, it showed him that we weren’t above doing even the worst jobs. Everyone mattered; it was just the way we did things.
Quick Takeaways:
Culture is the normal way of interacting in an environment and how those interactions make people feel.
The culture of a workplace can make work healthy or unhealthy. Enjoyable or exhausting. Uplifting or discouraging.
A leader’s choices – both action and inaction – say what is ok and what is not ok.
How you can apply this:
If someone makes an unkind remark or joke, follow up (privately is often best). Little moments matter in setting the tone for what is acceptable.
Log your time to evaluate if you are spending time on the things that are important to your culture. Adjust as needed.
Be a leader who sets an example by being the first to praise others, the first to apologize, the first to take an undesirable job, and do the hard thing.
What example do you set? Are you priming others for burnout if they try to keep up? Are you demonstrating a healthy balance?
Leaders Shift the Wellbeing of Those They Lead
Even though I was thrilled with Ben, things weren’t perfect. In fact, there was a pretty big incident.
He got into a fight with his roommate. Violence is a big deal, especially when it’s on hotel property at our staff dorms.
I hate these situations. Everyone makes mistakes they regret, so I want to be understanding and not overreact to a mistake. But being too lenient would set a poor precedent. Argh! Some of the things we deal with as leaders just feel like no-win situations.
In this case, our general manager handled it very well. He had a serious talk with both Ben and the roommate to convey what a big deal this was. Then, he gave them both a second chance, making it clear the consequences if there was another incident. Then we rearranged rooming assignments to prevent further issues.
I knew that giving trust, along with clear boundaries, was the right thing to do. But I didn't know the full impact of how we handled the situation until the end of the year. He told me how being around so many people who were enthusiastic to hike and explore gave him the motivation to be healthier and stop some substance abuse that had controlled him for years. Ben mentioned this environment, and the chance and guidance we provided changed his life.
Quick Takeaways:
Studies show that bosses have a greater impact on their teams' mental health than spouses or family.
Everyone comes from different backgrounds. Work can be a place to unlearn negative patterns and become healthier.
How you treat people impacts them far beyond the office walls.
The position of a leader naturally encourages others to see you as a sage and come to you for advice. Don’t be surprised if team members come to you for advice on something totally unrelated to your line of business.
How you can apply this:
Care about the person, not just the results.
Make wellbeing a priority. Consider how working at the office for 8 hours affects your team beyond the office walls.
Become a sage worth listening to. Learn from others, work on yourself and develop strength of character.
You Matter.
It was my dream to work at this hotel, and I loved every day. But it felt like my days in the office planning staff events, making checklists and interviewing applicants were just keeping the cogs of the business turning. I didn’t feel like I was making an impact on anyone.
I needed Ben to show me the impact I had on him. Like me, he had wanted to work at this hotel since he was a kid. Finally, getting the chance was a dream come true. Because of the work our leadership team put into developing good systems, he was able to quickly get up to speed and feel competent and confident, like he was contributing to something amazing. Because we created a culture that showed him every day how our team and guests mattered, it pushed him to bring his best and live a healthier life. The environment supported a better version. And when we cared enough to pair coaching and trust, it didn’t just save his job, it changed his life.
Leaders do have an impact. Sometimes, it’s simply harder to see.
Whether you’re a teacher, store manager, or a guy running a hotel, how you lead matters. You just might change someone’s life.