Inspiring Others to Achieve Greatness

At Hilton, we’ve created The Check-In – a series that shares perspectives on issues and insights that shape the human experience at work. As we begin the new year, it's an opportune time to set the stage for future success. I wanted to revisit a piece I previously wrote on the behaviors that define leaders, offering insights to help us thrive in the year ahead.

“Influencing others to follow” is the definition that pops up when you Google the word leadership. In my opinion, this definition falls flat; on the one hand, “influencing” doesn’t feel scalable or positive, and on the other hand, “followership” alone feels insufficient. So perhaps a better definition is “inspiring others to achieve greatness.” At Hilton as we seek to build a fully human experience at work, we believe leaders can achieve this by focusing on a few key behaviors:

Curiosity. Curiosity is the soulmate of learning. It is the desire to know more and never be satisfied with how much you know. We cannot be inclusive if we are not curious. We cannot be strategic if we are not curious. Curiosity comes when we listen, ask questions with humility, and look and think outside the box. We all need to bring relentless curiosity to everything we do – from the business we operate in, to the people we serve, and the world that we live in.

Caring. For people to do their best, they need to have tangible evidence of care from their leaders. When we make others feel like they are seen, they feel welcome, heard, and a part of something greater than themselves. Caring for others’ holistic wellbeing inspires greatness. You won’t get people to join you if you don’t care for them in an authentic way.

Coaching. For others to achieve greatness, leaders need to be all in on their learning and performance. Doing so means building a rhythm of feedback, observation, challenge, analysis, and especially trust. In its simplest form, coaching is teaching to promote alternative ways of thinking and working. Even the best athletes in the world have coaches whom they turn to for real-time modifications and long-term improvements based on observable behavior and circumstances.

Courage. As leaders and humans, we all face challenges and difficulties. In fact, winning requires that we overcome the obstacles that we face. Therefore, courage is a necessary competitive advantage. Courage is finding the mental and moral strength to venture, persevere, or withstand danger or fear. People aren’t born with courage; they make a choice to be brave.

Recent headlines have been flooded with topics around work and leadership. Each day, but especially now, leaders must lead not only at work but in every aspect of their lives. Leading with curiosity, care, coaching, and courage is an opportunity to transform ourselves, others, and the world. Hilton’s founder Conrad Hilton believed in this power of transformation more than 100 years ago when he asked us to dream big and spread hope. He was not only a dreamer but also a leader inspiring us all to believe we could achieve greatness.