Brave Leaders: Vulnerable, Human and Empathetic

“We need to break destructive patterns like ‘this is a 14-hour workday and that’s just how it is’. That’s not how it is! And that’s not the future people want. It’s downright unhealthy!... People need to rest first, and they will bring their best to work.” - Michael Vaz

To say we’re living truly unique times is an understatement. However, as unique as they are, we’re living truly game-changing times. There are few times in history where we get the chance to rewrite the rules of the game - this time with intention and heart.

Next in my Wellness in Hospitality series, I reached out to a fun, dynamic and bold leader, Michael Vaz - one of the best speakers I’ve seen on stage. I had the pleasure of working with Michael back in my Macau days. I love his fresh and brave perspective. And what I particularly love is how he advocates for putting our hearts front and centre when it comes to our businesses. We are people first and above all, and that is how we should lead and show up.

Interview Highlights:

1. You have successfully led hundreds of C-Suite leaders through their transformation. Can you share some of your success stories??

I once spoke to a powerful female leader just before she was about to go onstage. She asked me “Mike you’re so good on stage, how is it that you don’t get nervous?” I replied “well, I do! However I’m going to give you a little hack - your brain emits the same chemicals whether it’s nervous or excited, so instead of telling your brain you are nervous, just tell yourself, I’m excited! I can’t wait to deliver this session to this amazing audience!” She said “I’ll give it a try”.?

I saw this powerful female leader take to the stage and rock an engaging and exciting session. After she finished she came and found me and said to me “Mike, that totally worked! Transformation comes from believing, right.”?

Our brain believes everything we tell it. So when we feed it new information our behaviour lines up with our beliefs! That was a 10 second transformation I witnessed. Among many other stories this is the one that stands out for me. The power of our thoughts and in believing in ourselves.

2. What are the key traits today’s leaders need to be successful??

A short but powerful answer. Empathy and vulnerability above all else.

3. Where do you think wellness fits within leadership??

Our C-suite leaders need to get more wellness leaders to the big table - to educate leaders at the top on things like mental health, living better, moving more, nutrition, managing emotions, etc so that they place an emphasis on these critical items within the organisation. When wellness leaders have a seat on the table at a board, this starts to impact the entire organisation. We also need wellness leaders to stand up for how leaders treat people. Break wrong beliefs such as good stress. We don’t need to live in a world where people are stressed - today we have the highest rates of depression and anxiety. We cannot afford to be treating people with disrespect, we don’t know what they go through.

4. Which areas do you see leaders in the hospitality industry struggle with??

Balance. We need to break destructive patterns like “this is a 14 hour workday and that’s just how it is”.?

That’s not how it is. And that’s not the future people want. It’s downright unhealthy!? We need to get creative on scheduling, make sure people have 2 days off a week at a minimum, no matter what the work conditions are. People need to rest first, and they will bring their best to work.

5. What trends are you seeing in general around the globe in terms of leadership??

More understanding, more respect, more care for people’s wellbeing - that goes for employees AND leaders as well. This is indeed encouraging and we need to continue to support practices like this.

If you want to continue the conversation, join me in the LinkedIn Live session on Wednesday 26th April at 11h Central European Time as I pick Michael Vaz’s passionate and inspiring brain on how we can bring more wellness leaders to the big table and what traits we need to help our leaders of the future develop.