Most people have not mastered these five changes you can make to be a great leader. They take work and some changes of mindset, but are worth the effort.

We often hear leaders in hospitality, spa, and wellness say their team members are their greatest assets. This may be true in any business, but it’s particularly true here. Hospitality workers are what makes “hospitality,” the definition of which is “the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers,” hospitable. Without them you don’t have a hospitality business. You have a building with beds in it.

It takes a special type of person to be a great leader in this industry. Being a good leader takes dedication and hard work; being a great leader takes a lot more than that. Great hospitality leaders motivate and inspire the teams that make guests feel welcome and valued, and make the difference between a bad experience, a good experience, and a life-changing experience.

We’ve written about how to be a better spa director in the past. Among the common things good leaders do are listening, leading by example, and aligning goals. Now let’s look at some keys to being a great leader. Most people have not mastered these, and they take work and some changes of mindset, but they are worth the effort.

Five changes you can make to be a great leader

1. Learn to manage your ego

We all have egos. The worst leaders let their egos lead and the best ones don’t. As Rasmus Hougaard writes, “a big ego makes us have a strong confirmation bias. Because of this, we lose perspective and end up in a leadership bubble where we only see and hear what we want to. As a result, we lose touch with the people we lead, the culture we are a part of, and ultimately our clients and stakeholders.” Breaking free of that ego can be hard, but it’s something all the best leaders have to do. Managing your ego also allows you to be receptive to criticism. The best leaders take criticism well. The worst ones get defensive and angry with the messenger, because their egos get in the way. If you can’t take criticism well, you can’t improve, and if you can’t improve, you will never be great.

2. Find your courage

We’ve talked a lot about leading by example in the past, and sometimes that means being courageous in order to inspire courage in others. In most cases, this isn’t going to mean running through a burning building or taking a bullet for a team member. What it might mean is being brave enough to try new things, like unfamiliar technologies or expansion into new territories. Graciously handling criticism requires courage and admitting one’s mistakes requires courage. It takes courage to support your team and have their backs when customers are demanding and difficult and it takes courage to be vulnerable and humble. Bad leaders lack the courage to face this reality. Good ones are scared and do it anyway. It’s not courage if you’re not scared.

3. Start encouraging people to speak up

Even if it’s something you don’t want to hear. In a two-year study on team performance, Google found that the highest-performing teams have one thing in common: psychological safety, which, according to Harvard Business School’s Amy Edmondson is, “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.” In a TED Talk, Edmondson explained that psychological safety encourages “a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.” Too many people would never go to their boss with a workplace concern, particularly if that concern involved questioning the strategy or decisions made by the actual boss. And that is to the teams’ detriment. It’s easier to work together in an environment that encourages courage rather than fear.

4. Make it OK to fail

As mentioned above, a psychologically safe environment is one in which people are not afraid of being punished for their mistakes. An HBR article states, “psychological safety allows for moderate risk-taking, speaking your mind, creativity, and sticking your neck out without fear of having it cut off,” and notes that these are the behaviors that lead to market breakthroughs. Edmondson also found in her research that better teams reported higher error rates than other teams. This is not necessarily because they make more mistakes, but rather because they’re more willing and able to talk about them. Back to the previous point, Edmondson found that the highest performing teams were those that were part of a psychologically safe environment and “in which everyone, from the lowest ranking employee to the highest, felt empowered to speak up.”

5. Start trusting people

If you want people to trust you, you have to show that you trust them. Delegate decision making. Sometimes people have better ideas and more clarity than you do. You are incapable of being right all the time. In order for a team to succeed, that responsibility must be shared. When people are given ownership of a decision, they’re driven to take responsibility for the success resulting from that decision. When this success has been clearly defined in a shared company goal, you then have a team of people empowered to work towards that goal. When you just tell people what to do based on what you alone have decided, it’s a little less motivating. Trust might also mean allowing employees to problem solve without having to come to you for permission. For example, when a customer or scheduling issue needs resolution.

These are the things that next level managers do. Not everyone tries to master them, but everyone can master them.

There is a lot of competition in spa and hospitality. It’s your people that set you apart. Help them succeed by being a great leader. 

It’s time to look into our crystal balls and predict the future for the year ahead. Subscribe to our newsletter and download our special report on the trends we’ll be watching: Nine spa and wellness trends for 2021. Download here.

Spa Executive is published by Book4Time, the leader in guest management, revenue and mobile solutions for the most exclusive spas, hotels, and resorts around the globe. Learn more at book4time.com.

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We wanted to know what topics were top of mind with spa and wellness leaders, so we asked ISPA Vice Chair, Michelle Adams Somerville, to share what people are talking about. Focus on community is what will get the industry through difficult times.

Do you ever wonder if your business worries are yours and yours alone? Do you wonder if the challenges you’re facing and the concerns that keep you up at night are exclusive to you or if they are shared by your peers? Wondering if others have answers and solutions you don’t can be stressful and lonely, and right now is a particularly difficult time for that. That’s why we decided to find out what leaders in the spa and wellness community are talking about right now.

We reached out to ISPA Vice Chair, Michelle Adams Somerville, to ask what conversations spa and wellness leaders are having and what solutions are being discussed to counter some of the unprecedented challenges we’re facing as a sector. 

These are the topics that Adams Somerville said are top-of-mind for leaders in the spa and wellness community.

Leadership

Adams Somerville told us that leadership is key right now as spa and wellness leaders navigate the ever-changing safety protocols and how to meet the pent-up demand while ensuring the safety of teams and guests. She said, “The ISPA Spa Reopening Toolkit has been a lifesaver for so many spas. According to the August ISPA Snapshot Survey, 80% of spas are now open; however, two-thirds of that audience is operating at less than 55% capacity due to limitations and government mandates.”

Guests have been returning to spas and are looking for wellness solutions, she said, “but we are performing a balancing act with the number of people spas can have in their space at any given time, guest demands, and available therapists.”

 The solution? Adams Somerville says spas are creatively using their spaces in different ways than intended and looking for areas outside of the spa to use as spa rooms. “For example, outdoor treatment spaces and using hotel rooms as treatment rooms. We are also talking about renting out unused areas, like fitness rooms or steam rooms to small, private groups, for additional revenue streams.”

Another shutdown

Of course, the threat of a possible resurgence of the virus causing another potential shutdown is top of mind across the industry. “That’s a huge concern,” said Adams Somerville. “It’s the undertone of everything.”

Fortunately, she said, “ISPA, has done a fantastic job and has put together a step-by-step shutdown plan. So, if you have to shut your spa down tomorrow, there is a plan. As much as we hope we’re not going to need it, if we need it, we’re going to need it fast.”

Retail

Retail has been a lifeline for many spas, and Adams Somerville says it has also been a positive surprise.

“There has been a big increase in retail revenue and people have been saying, ‘Wow. My retail is flying off the shelves!’ This is great. But it raises the question of how we can have adequate supplies to sell and to function and operate our treatment rooms. I don’t want to order too much, because if I have a shut down, what am I going to do with all this product? I had to throw it away the last time.”

This is where the right resource partners come in, said Somerville. “The support from the resource partner community has been incredible as spas focus on how to source and obtain the adequate supplies needed to function with an unknown financial outlook as we prepare budgets for 2021.” 

Budgets

Everything is unpredictable, Adams Somerville notes, and “nobody knows what our finances are going to look like in two months.” So, she says, people are turning to each other. 

“Everyone is asking everyone else what they are doing for their budgets. We need a crystal ball for our budgets!”

For now, the best solution is to try to envision different scenarios and create different budgets for them. “Most people are doing a couple of different budgets,” said Adams Somerville. “Some people are budgeting for three or six months at a time while others are creating best and worst-case scenario budgets. I think the best and worst-case scenario budgets is a great idea.”

Staffing

Staffing is always an issue in spa and wellness and Adams Somerville says it’s even more of a challenge now. “Finding qualified service providers was an issue pre-COVID and has only exacerbated since the pandemic started. Industry leaders are challenged with having to schedule around safety concerns while many employees juggle new home-life issues, including childcare, virtual schooling and caring for high-risk family members.” 

Community solutions

Adams Somerville said that, overall, the spa industry is resilient and has always been innovative. “People are working together. ISPA has used the slogans, ‘all hands on the rope’ and ‘all flying in formation,’ and this is what is happening right now. It is huge.  People are supporting others, lifting them up and building the spa community up together.

“We will be hosting the ISPA Conference in May, in Phoenix, AZ, where we can all gather safely, learn together and support each other. 

“It’s incredible how supportive people in this industry are of one another. People are just talking freely and sharing plans and ideas with each other. It’s been great.”

Spa Executive is published by Book4Time, the leader in guest management, revenue and mobile solutions for the most exclusive spas, hotels, and resorts around the globe. Learn more at book4time.com.

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Julia Sutton is the COO at Exhale, a wellbeing destination with locations all across the United States, offering award-winning boutique fitness classes and spa therapies curated to help people meet their health goals. A veteran of the fitness, spa, and wellness industry, Julia has been with Exhale from the beginning, and seen it grow into the respected brand it is today, which, as you might have heard, was recently purchased by Hyatt.

We spoke with Julia Sutton about Exhale’s plans for the future, as well as the spa and wellness trends she’s watching, and how to tell innovation from gimmick.

How did you get to where you are today?

I studied international business and always thought I was going to work on Wall Street. And then, while attending Manhattan college I worked at the Peninsula hotel training the rich and famous, if you will, and keeping them healthy. When college finished I stayed on to manage their whole fitness program, then moved to running the entire facility, which included the spa, at the Peninsula on 5th Avenue and 55^th street. So by my early 20s I was running an eight million dollar business.

They were managed by Club Sports International, that had 40 facilities across the U.S. I became Club Sports’ spa expert and national spa director. Annbeth Eschbachs CEO of Exhale acquired funding and started Exhale and I came on board as the VP of operations focusing on Spa 15 years ago.

What are your plans for the future with Hyatt?

I’m still the chief operating officer, and will continue to run the company. It will be a lot of fun to take this brand and double, if not quadruple, its size.

We are very successful in hotels other than Hyatt, including Lowes, Kimptons, and Fairmont. What we do really well, which no other brand has figured out, is boutique fitness and spa in a hotel setting, and prove to be a successful business model . We attract the local community in a lot of these hotels, so we’re filling up their facilities and restaurants, producing revenue for the hotel properties .

Hyatt has every intention in keeping Exhale in its existing hotel partners to continue to prove out the model and generate revenues for the company.  We will also  grow very strategically in Hyatts, as well as freestanding.

One of the biggest challenges spa directors face is staying on top of trends. How do you do that? Also, I read in an interview with you that you love innovation and hate gimmicks. How does one tell the different between innovation and gimmick?

I think that to truly be an innovator in this space, and to recognize true innovation, you have to be living it yourself, trying every class that you’re hearing about, and actively participating in the wellness lifestyle.

Something I find interesting is that when I go to a lot of these spa conferences, only some of the industry leaders are exercising or living wellness.

These conferences generally run three to four days, and there’s usually no boutique fitness offered. Sometimes there’s a yoga class, but it’s much different than if you were at a fitness conference where everyone is running around trying the new fitness equipment and new classes. In the spa world it’s all about the latest and greatest creams, and lotions and potions. Obviously that’s important, but I think that whole entire wellness component is missing.

That being said, In the spa  space I think a lot of directors are challenged with a lack of authority to innovate. People probably have great ideas, but a spa director in a larger company  might not be able to get anyone to hear her ideas.

What trends are you currently keeping your eye on?

Online classes. So many of the people I know travel for business and it’s really hard to keep up with your favourite studio or class, so we’re on a platform called Forte and we’re really excited about expanding past our four walls. We think that with the Hyatt this could be huge in hotel rooms. So we’re really excited about that digital, on the go, where you can always have your favourite things.

The other thing we’re exploring is Vyne, a service that makes eating healthy accessible. You can have food home delivered and it’s not outrageously expensive.

Those are the trends I’m really excited about, making wellness more and more accessible. Because it is hard if you’re on the go or travelling, and I like the idea of making it as easy as possible to maintain this lifestyle.

Spa Executive magazine is published by Book4Time, the world’s most innovative spa, salon, wellness, and activity management software. Learn more at Book4Time.com.

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Staffing is one of the biggest challenges for spas. Places just can’t find the talent they need – and if they do find the talent, it doesn’t stick around.

This problem isn’t unique to spas. Research conducted at Workopolis by Peter Harris and me in 2014 found that more than half of people now stay in jobs for an average of just two years.

But that doesn’t actually solve anything.

Part of the problem with spa staffing is the education system; schools selling a false reality in order to sell their programs.

This is according to Daryll Naidu, former director of Miraj Hammam Spa by Caudalie at the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto. In his time at Miraj Hammam, Naidu had a 95% employee retention rate, which is wildly impressive in an industry where many list employee acquisition and retention among their top concerns. I asked him to share some of his insights.

“Students have this misconception that as soon as they finish school they’re gong to be walking into a job making fifty to sixty thousand dollars a year because that’s the expectation that’s created for them,” says Naidu.

He sits on the board of two schools and encourages spa directors to get involved with their local education program to advise on how they can help prepare students for what is really out there.

In the here and now, though, we recognize that you’ve got a spa to run. So, here are three tips for attracting a keeping top talent.

Look at your management team.

A bad relationship with the boss is the number one reason people quit jobs. If you’re bleeding staff, it’s likely a problem with your management. Make sure they are setting an example and are happy in their own roles.

Naidu says, “A revolving door with your management team, creates instability with the staff. There’s no real leader, people are coming, and policies change because leaders have different management styles, and different focus areas.

“Change is good,” Naidu says, “but so is stability in the right areas.”

Empower your staff.

Involving your employees in the decision making process will give them a sense of ownership in the business and people are much more likely to work hard for the success of something that is theirs.

“I involve my team as much as possible in the decision making process,” says Naidu. “Especially the ones who have been here from the start because it’s their spa as well.”

Empowerment and autonomy are key ingredients for a happy and productive team. Numerous studies show that employees who are given autonomy are both happier and more productive than workers with less autonomy.

Create pathways to advancement.

This is really key. In more research conducted by Harris and me, we found that all things being equal with compensation, benefits, and location the most important factor when evaluation a position was “opportunities for advancement.” However, managers usually look outside to hire for senior roles and 88% of employees have to change jobs to move up – which is frustrating and disheartening.

Naidu says, “I realized through trial and error how important it is to provide opportunities for my current staff to grow into new positions.”

He’s recently taken a unique approach to advancement, with a vacant management role.

“I had staff that probably could fill that role in a year’s time but not yet. So, I decided not to fill that spa manager role, and instead created two supervisory positions which I opened up for application to my entire team. I plan on promoting two internal candidates to supervisory roles, and hopefully in a year one of them will move into that manager role, leaving a supervisory position for someone else to move into.”

Finally, be willing to learn from your mistakes.

Successful leaders learn and grow. If you expect this from your staff, they should be able to expect it from you.

After all, you’re all in this together

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