My Leadership Journey

In my two years in the Hospitality & Tourism Management program at San Diego State University, I have learned more about the concept of leadership that I thought possible. Coming into the program, the only thoughts of leadership I had stemmed from stereotypical ideas of political figures, war generals and CEOs.  I didn’t think about leadership beyond someone’s ability to get others to do what was needed as efficiently and effectively as possible. My idea of motivation was money, and my idea of success was the timely completion of tasks. While these ideas are still a part of leadership, they only involve its surface level. I have come to learn that the depth of leadership involves much more than give-and-take. Leadership is about interconnected relationships. These relationships are between leaders and their organizations, employees and their organizations, and leaders and employees.

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The relationship between a leader and their organization is perhaps the most important aspect about leadership as a whole. For a leader to be successful, they have to be passionate about their organization so that they can inspire their employees and connect the employees to their vision. Transformational leaders are the ones that fall into their roles gladly; this is because true leadership is something that cannot be forced. Just like kids who cannot be forced into a sport if their heart is not in it, you cannot force someone to be a successful leader in something they are not passionate about. In my current job, my manager is someone who truly believes in our organization and has worked his way from the bottom up to be the general manager of our bar. A large part of what makes him successful in his role is that it is clear he truly cares for the organization and everyone in it, which makes myself and other employees appreciate him and his boss trust him with important decisions.

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The relationship between an employee and their organization is also a crucial factor in the leadership equation. A leader can only lead an organization to long-term success if it has the right people. The right people are those that believe in their work and care for those they work with and for, and those that have no commitment to their organization are viruses to the organization as a whole. For example, I had an ex-coworker at my bar that lost interest in her work and began to have a negative attitude toward other employees. After a few weeks of her slacking off and continuously being negative, my fellow employees and I started losing moral and the quality of our work also declined. When repeated attempts to come to a resolution with her failed, management had no choice but to let her go. Immediately after this, the quality of everyone’s work returned to normal.

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The leader-employee relationship can be one of the most beneficial factors in achieving organizational success. It is a leader’s job to know their employees and what motivates them, and in doing so align their passion with action. By knowing what employees want and working with them to help them attain whatever it may be, leaders are able to increase organizational commitment and help their employees develop in their work. In one of Jeff Campbell’s lectures he said that it is a leader’s job to make other leaders, and I believe it is that message of empowerment that rings true in successful organizations. A successful leader is one who, through their own commitment to an organization, can enhance an employee’s commitment to that organization through their own mutually beneficial relationship.

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I believe that this leader-employee-organization relationship is universal in all industries, businesses and societies that require a team to succeed. However, there is not one perfect leadership formula to be followed that allows for success in any situation. The needs and passions of leaders, employees and organization will always be different since no two people are the same and each organization has its own agenda. Because of this, no one leadership style will work best in every situation. It is entirely up to people to find where they best fit, be they leaders or followers, and I believe that this best fit is found when people follow their passions. I believe that by pursing your true interests, you are continuously putting yourself in situations you are best suited for, which is a recipe for greatness. I hope to carry this knowledge with me in my future endeavors to create strong, successful relationships in both my professional and personal life.