Leading with Resilience and Agility

by Spencer Stuart 's Ann Fastiggi, (pictured left) and Darleen DeRosa (pictured right).

In what seemed like overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic leveled a severe economic impact on the global hotel industry. As the world moved virtual and travel all but shut down, hotels found themselves closed or with record-low occupancy. From hotel brands to operators to owners, few in the industry were immune. 

Much has been written and said about how and when the recovery will happen, but one thing is certain — things will look very different. As society slowly begins its reopening and the economy begins to churn back to life, what’s next for the industry? How does it recover? How do organizations prepare for these changes? How do they adapt amid a crisis?

We believe that the hotel industry’s answers to these questions starts with resilient leadership. When tasked with a wide range of changes from reimagining public spaces to enhancing cleaning protocols to contactless payments and keys, resilient leaders will help this industry think differently and carry through to the future.

So how and where do organizations find these leaders? And how do you know if they can adapt to the change that seems to come on an almost daily basis?

Adapting to rapid change

Adaptability is a core competency of agile leadership, and we believe that it starts with resilience: the ability to adjust easily to change. Resilient leaders recognize changing dynamics, reimagine strategic direction and make rapid adjustments to overcome challenges and propel change. They learn from experience and quickly and objectively recognize when their current approach is ineffective, which makes them well-suited to deal with challenging situations and manage change.

As the hotel industry faces unprecedented revenue declines or struggles to cover upcoming debt payments, it will need resilient leaders to dig deep and find new solutions — to think creatively about how to solve complex problems by being resourceful, agile and confident in their decisions. They must be willing to try new things and be willing to fail fast.

Fortunately, many educational institutions and world-class companies have found the value in giving individuals varied experiences and even rotational programs. For example, one of business school’s biggest benefits are the internships. Meanwhile, one element that made General Electric such an incredible training ground for future C-suite leaders was its rotational management program, which enabled new employees to move freely between divisions, geographies and functions. Experiences like these teach people to be adaptable, learn on the job and make decisions more quickly.

Evaluating leaders’ resilience

Experience alone does not assure resilient or agile leadership. More important, we believe, is finding clear examples where candidates adapted their approach in the face of new information or, as we’re currently experiencing, managed the changing operating dynamic associated with a global health crisis and economic recession.

There are a few ways we evaluate leaders’ ability to demonstrate this.

Flexible mindset. Agile leaders are flexible enough to rethink decisions when new information becomes available. They also understand that their actions could produce unintended consequences, and they adjust their approach without getting distracted from either short or long-term organizational goals. Have they demonstrated an openness to learning more? Do they do the extra work to gain a more situational context, taking into account all scenarios, stakeholders and so on?

Speed. Leaders often do not have the luxury of weeks or even days to make important decisions. While some situations require time to validate assumptions or seek critical data before important decisions are made, many are made through trial and error. We seek to examine how leaders have demonstrated an ability to risk a decision that may fail, and then discern what they learn from those failures.

Self-awareness. Those that can see themselves and their impact on others and continually adjust it are better equipped to overcome setbacks or new challenges. Self-awareness enables leaders to better connect with others — through greater empathy and listening skills, and stronger communication skills and decision-making. For resilient leaders, failure isn’t an end, but rather a means to deliver better outcomes. They persist by examining why failures occur and seek insights for better results in the future.

Inspiring leadership

With a clear and inspiring vision for others, leaders can generate support for critical initiatives and avoid a commitment dip when setbacks inevitably occur. An unwavering focus on priorities enables them to deliver results even in the face of significant challenges.

Those that demonstrate resiliency in how they can deliver results despite challenges will wind up as the hotel industry’s success stories coming out of this unprecedented year.

Established in 2000, GlobalHotelNetwork.com is the premier provider of hotel investment insights, thought leadership & industry intelligence for C-Suite executives, leaders and influencers in the global travel & tourism industry.