Learning from Mistakes, Key to a Successful Career

Hospitality means many things to many people, for those who operate within the industry fruitfully, it usually means one thing – passion.

Many have entered the field and succeeded however, I have seen many more who have failed. Over the years, I would ask myself, “why are so many of my peers failing to achieve success?”

Originally I would settle with the thought that they just weren’t cut out for the elements that come equipped with hospitality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Hospitality is no different from any other industry, where the true measure of success is how many times you can bounce back from failure. Confidence is the most valuable vehicle to success, we as humans have it embedded in our DNA to want to succeed, whether professionally or personally.

Conversely, we tend to favor the path of least resistance when confronted with the possibility of failure. Many of us descend towards the memories of failure over success, this is because the memory of failure has more of an emotional impact on our lives. This causes a tendency to fear failure and avoid reattempting what may have prompted that failure.

Fear is our greatest enemy when looking for progress. I find it important when mentoring my team to express the beneficial properties failure provides, if you are able to find the opportunities hidden within each challenge, you will see it begin to create a breeding ground for success. There is nothing wrong with failing so long as you learn from those mistakes and are willing to try again with an altered approach.

 Strong leadership is another key element to finding success in your professional life, adapting to your team’s challenges as a leader will allow you to understand the shortfalls and low-hanging fruit in your departments. It is imperative that you use tact when hearing these issues while still presenting empathy to your staff. Trust your team, and understand that they will make mistakes but give them the reinforcement needed to overcome the mistakes they committed. Champion your second in command in the face of entry-level staff, this will create an environment of empowerment and allow your entry-level workforce to respect your second in command. Collaborate with other sections of your business regularly while involving your second in command, keeping your management staff involved in decisions will give them an enhanced perspective when managing their respective areas.

At some point in our careers, we’ve all had feeble leadership in our professional lives, remember how you preferred to be acknowledged and supported and implement that culture you once desired for yourself onto your staff. A healthy work environment, rich with support, will work wonders for your business, it will take baby steps, but as a hospitality professional, you have to be committed to making a positive change.

In closing, I want to share a quote I encountered 15 years ago during the beginning of my leadership career “Happy employees ensure happy customers and happy customers ensure happy shareholders,” in that order.