• The Practice of Human Resources Leadership

• The Importance of Human Resources Leadership

• The Challenge of Human Resources Leadership

• Leaders, Supervisors & Associates

• Characteristics of Leaders• The Nature of Leadership• Leadership Styles• Developing Your Own Style• Ethics• The Supervisor as Mentor

Chapter 1: Leading Human Resources

The Practice of Human Resources Leadership

• Critical to all successful hospitality organizations.

• Work & the workplace are much more complex than they were years ago.

• Not only has legislation & compliance become more important but also so has:– Equal opportunity, creating a positive work

environment, technology, diversity, recruiting, selection, compensation & benefits, training & development, teambuilding, performance management, conflict management, safety & health, planning, organizing, decision-making, communication, motivating, & controlling!

The Practice of Human Resources Leadership

• Organizational effectiveness: intention to go beyond performing traditional HR functions to adding value through directly improving the performance of the business, done by adding:More value by effective talent management.Helping with change management.Influencing business strategy.Plus a host of other high-value-added

activities that impact organizational effectiveness.

The Importance of Human Resources Leadership

• Corporations of excellence regard HR as their most valuable asset & competitive advantage.

• The HR director & the HR department are strategic business partners adding intrinsic value to the organization as a resource for all departments.

• HR is responsible for the efficient & effective operation of the human resources of the organization.

The Importance of Human Resources Leadership

• HR is all about attracting, selecting, recruiting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, developing, disciplining, mentoring, evaluating the performance, & supporting & retaining the associates.

The Human Resources Department

• Lead by the director of HR.• The HR director:

– An executive committee position.– Carries with it the enormous responsibilities of

running an efficient & effective HR department. – A member of the ‘guidance team’ that run the

organization – making all the important decisions.

– Sets the tone of how employee relations are conducted.

– Establishes a vision for the company’s human resources.

– Is the advocate for the employees at executive-level decision-making.

The Human Resources Department

• The HR department generally has a co-coordinator, who ensures that all employee & management inquiries are handled with courtesy & given to the appropriate HR manager.

• Many HR departments have an employment manager, who checks applications & does employment suitability interviews & reference checks.

The Challenge of Human Resources Leadership

• Finding & keeping great employees motivated.

• High turnover in the hospitality industry.

• The cost of high turnover.

Leadership• Leadership begins with:

– Vision• Instills a common purpose, self-esteem, & a

sense of membership in the organization.

– Mission• Mission statements describe the purpose of the

organization & outline the kinds of activities performed for guests.

– Goals • Are relevant to the mission, specific & clear,

challenging yet achievable, made in collaboration with employees, & written down with the strategies & tactics of how to meet the goals.

Leaders & Associates• Hotels & restaurants are dependent on large

numbers of people to fill low-wage entry-level jobs that have little interest & no perceived future.

• Another level of hourly worker is the skilled or semiskilled: the front desk clerk, the cashier, the bartender, the cook, the waiter & waitress.– These jobs are more appealing, the money is better,

& there is sometimes a chance for advancement.

• Many employers assume that their employee will not stay long, & most of them do not.

Characteristics of Leaders

• Several studies have shown that effective leaders have 6 traits that distinguish them from nonleaders: – Drive– The desire to influence

others– Honesty – Moral character– Self-confidence– Intelligence– Relevant knowledge

Characteristics of Leaders

• Effective leaders are able to influence others to behave in a particular way.

• This is called power. • There are 4 primary sources of power:

– 1. Legitimate power, which is derived from an individual’s position in an organization.

– 2. Reward power, which is derived from an individual’s control over rewards.

– 3. Coercive power, which is derived from an individual’s ability to threaten negative outcomes.

– 4. Expert power, which is derived from an individual’s personal charisma & the respect &/or admiration the individual inspires.

The Nature of Leadership

• A leader can be defined as:– Someone who guides or

influences the actions of his or her employees to reach certain goals.

– A person whom people follow voluntarily.

– Supervisors must direct the work of their people in a way that causes them to do it voluntarily.

• You have to get people to work for you willingly & to the best of their ability.

• That is what leadership is all about.

Seven Steps for a Foundation of Leadership

Development1. Invest time, resources, & money needed to create a

culture that supports leadership development.2. Identify & communicate differences between

management skills & leadership abilities within a company.

3. Develop quantifiable measurables that support leadership.

4. Make leadership skills a focus of training.5. Implement ongoing programs that focus on

leadership. 6. Know that in the right culture leaders can be found

at entry level.7. Recognize, reward, & celebrate leaders.

Authority & Leaders

• Formal leaders according to the organization chart are in charge.

• Informal leaders are in charge by having the support of their employees.

• Formal authority is given to you by virtue of your position.

• Real Authority is given to you by having support of your employees.

Leadership Styles:The most popular types of leadership styles

today:

• Autocratic: Needs of employees comes second. Makes decisions without input from staff, gives orders & expects them to be obeyed.

• They believe that this is the only method employees will understand.

• Bureaucratic: “ By the Book”, relies on rules, regulations & procedures for decisions.

• Appropriate for when employees can be permitted no discretion in the decisions to be made.

Leadership Styles Continued:

• Democratic: Almost the reverse of the autocratic style. The supervisor wants to share & consult with the group in decision making. Informs employees about all matters concerning them.

• Laissez- faire: The hands off approach. The supervisor does as little leading as possible. Delegates all power & authority to employees. Limited application to the hospitality industry.

The Old Style Boss

• Method: command- obey, carrot-and-stick, reward & punishment, autocratic.

• Results: far more likely to increase problems than to lesson them.

Theory X

• Douglas McGregor • People are

counterproductive.• Inborn dislike of work.• Must be coerced,

controlled, directed, threatened with punishment.

• People prefer to be led, avoid responsibility, lack ambition, & want security.

Theory Y

• Under the right conditions people accept & seek out responsibility.

• Imagination, ingenuity, & creativity to solving problems is widely distributed in the population.

• Modern industrial organizations use only a portion of the intellectual potential of the average human being.

• Douglas McGregor • Argued that work is

natural, people do not inherently dislike it.

• People will work at their own accord towards objectives.

• People become committed to objectives that fulfill inner personal needs.

Theory X vs. Theory Y

• Theory X fits the old-style hospitality manager. • Theory Y is a revised view of human nature

with emphasis on using the full range of workers’ talents, needs, & aspirations.– A popular way of moving toward a Theory Y style of

people management is to involve one’s workers in certain aspects of management, such as problem solving & decision making.

• The participative management style results when workers have a high degree of involvement in such management concerns as planning & decision making.

Situational Leadership -Kenneth Blanchard & Paul

HerseyTwo types of Leadership behaviors:• Directed behavior - Tell employees

exactly what you want done, how, when, & where. The focus is to get the job done, it is best to use when employees are learning a new aspect of their job.

• Supportive behavior - Show caring, & support to you employees. Praise, encourage, & involve them in decision making. This is best to use when a employee lacks commitment to do a job.

Combining Directive & Supportive Styles

1. Directing Style: A lot of directed & few supportive behaviors.

2. Coaching Style: A lot of both directive & supportive behaviors.

3. Supporting Style: Highly supportive behaviors.

4. Delegating Style: Low on both directive & supportive because responsibility is turned over to employees.

Transformational Leadership:

• Transactional leaders: motivate through appealing to workers self interest (rewards).

• Transformational leaders: act as a coach, lead by example, communicate, inspire, & provide workers with challenging jobs.

Empowerment

• A technique used by participative leaders to share decision-making authority with team members.

• Empowerment means giving employees more control over their decisions, resources, & work.

• When decision-making power is shared at all levels of the organization, employees feel a greater sense of ownership & responsibility.

Developing Your Own Style

• The best style of leadership, for you, is whatever works best in terms of these three basics: – Your own personality. – The workers you supervise.– The situations you face.

• It should be a situational type of leadership, just as your management style must be a flex style that reacts to situations as they arise.

Developing Your Own Style

• What you need most in finding what works best is awareness of:– Yourself & the feelings,

desires, biases, abilities, power, & influence you bring to a situation; awareness of the special needs & traits of your various workers & awareness of the situation, the big picture, so you can recognize what is needed, conceptual skills & human skills.

Developing Your Own Style

• Leadership is also about change.

• Remember there is a six-step method of making changes:– 1st, state the purpose.– 2nd, involve others.– 3rd, test the plan before you

implement it company-wide. – 4th, introduce the change. – 5th, maintain & reinforce the

change.– 6th, follow up!

Ethics

• A set of moral principles or rules of conduct that provide guidelines for morally right behavior.

• Hall suggests 5 questions that you can use to help decide how ethical a certain decision is: – 1. Is the decision legal? – 2. Is the decision fair? – 3. Does the decision hurt

anyone? – 4. Have I been honest with

those affected? – 5. Can I live with my

decision?

The Supervisor as Mentor• A mentor is a leader, an

excellent role model, & a teacher.

• A supervisor often functions as a mentor to a worker by providing guidance & knowledge on learning the operation & moving up the career ladder.

• Being a mentor can provide feelings of pride & satisfaction because you have contributed to someone else’s career development.

© 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc