Developing a High Performance Team
Becoming a Top 10 place to work
The pandemic was a catastrophe for most industries, but it also offered immense learning opportunities for leaders. So I wanted to share a hugely positive experience, including the lessons learnt that made 2020 and 2021 surprisingly good years for the company I led. Where, beyond commercial success, the venue I was leading was also named "One of the Top 10 Best Places to Work in Hospitality".
I could fill hours on this topic but boiled down, the three key points I expand on below have made consistent and long-lasting impacts in teams I've led, ensuring they are a positive place in which to work, play and develop:
Create a high trust, high honesty environment
Aim for long-term decisions at the cost of short-term pain
One part attraction followed by three parts retention
“Resilience is key to the long term sustainability and commercial success of any business. That resilience relies on the high-quality talent you can attract and, more importantly, retain.”
Create aHigh Trust, High Honesty Environment
Your teams will be anxious about the times ahead, and you will likely be too. So, share that as it is an entirely acceptable way to feel.
Your time to be emotionally mature is now, so explain your thoughts and feelings, share your current plan and trust your team with this information. They'll respect you for your honesty and be more likely to engage with whatever comes next.
Share your expectations. During the pandemic, our venue set up nearly 30 different strategies to enable us to react to changing situations. All were shared with the team, a few were never used, but all were vitally important… until the moment they weren't.
A clever idea is not a clever idea forever. So, commit to your strategy but then have the self-awareness and courage to adjust it.
2. Aim forLong-term Decisions regardless of Short-term Pain
Do you plan to close the doors on your venue and walk away? No, good, so let's think about making the best of whatever situation you are in.
Long-term business decisions are usually the most rewarding but it is challenging to think clearly while you are under immediate short term pressure. Look at the long-term decisions as essential, your default; put aside anything that isn’t business critical.
A simple example from 2020 would be developing your sales team during lockdowns when everyone else was furloughing theirs. Costly, but overnight you become the most responsive venue in the area. Alternatively, finding a way to offer the salary needed for the right future superstar, the one who will help drive your business further than before, those team members that always deserve their premium. Short-term financial pain allows for a much grander long-term outcome.
3. One Part AttractionFollowed by Three Parts Retention
Resilience is key to the long term sustainability and commercial success of any business. That resilience relies on the high-quality talent you can attract and, more importantly, retain.
Imagine your team as a dish in a restaurant. You need the best quality produce to use in the recipe. Some may be sourced locally, some from further afield and some homegrown, yet all will be the best quality you can find. But that alone is not enough! Each ingredient needs to be understood to get the most from them. Whether they are raw, refined, aged, fresh, dominant, or in a supporting role, each will have immense value in creating something really special in the finished dish.
Of course, the same produce can feature in other dishes in another way, with a completely different outcome. A leading element in one could become a supporting element in another. Over time menus change, and different ingredients take new roles on every plate, adding different values but all still offering something greater than the sum of its parts when prepared and assembled correctly.
Understanding the people you work with unlocks potential you may not know exists, creating a team that evolves naturally to meet varying challenges over time.
To start, they must be recognised and noticed by leaders, and doing that takes a great manager. Then, to retain them within your venue, they must be respected, trusted, and rewarded in a way that is meaningful to them. Finally, you need to create a supportive and forward thinking environment where those who deserve exceptional careers are given the platform they need to succeed and be truly fulfilled.
With good management, those who want to do their job well will always go home at the end of the day being proud of what they do and feel that their contribution is recognised in ways they appreciate.
Summary
As a leader, your role is to understand, simplify and communicate and this is particularly so at times of challenge and financial pressure. Do this in whatever style is authentic to you, but I encourage you to consider how honesty, trust and humble confidence might engage your team.
Now embrace the importance of developing the innovative long-term strategies which are yours to deploy, and are only lost if surrendered by you.
Retaining team members is not just about the size of the salary; you must create a culture of understanding where rewards are tailored to the individuals.
I hope this strikes a chord with you, because enhancing careers and supporting others, in a way that also ensures commercial success, is where I get my kicks!
Written by
James Matthews
James has developed and managed high performance teams in a number of hospitality and wedding venues. He has spoken on the subject to wedding venue owners at the Meeting and Industry Events Wedding Conference.
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