| In the UK we have a program called "The Hotel | | | | from time to time to carry out his profits, not |
| Inspector". A successful hotel owner, the | | | | one of his members of staff had the title |
| impressive Alex Polizzi in the current series, visits | | | | "Manager". Or even "Supervisor". There was no |
| unsuccessful ones and gives them advice and | | | | hierarchy at all save for his title of Owner. When |
| other assistance to turn their businesses around. | | | | questioned, his staff said that there were too |
| Polizzi was born into the hotel business, being the | | | | many of them for the work and that they were |
| grandchild of Charles, later Lord, Forte of Trust | | | | bored for a large chunk of the time. None of |
| House Forte fame. I've only watched a few | | | | them felt motivated by the way he dealt with |
| episodes, but it seems to me that her advice is | | | | them. None of them had received any formal |
| always as obvious as it is fitting. It makes you | | | | training. All of them complained about a lack of |
| wonder why the owners needed her in the first | | | | leadership. |
| place. In episodes I have seen the hotels have | | | | Fast forward to close to the end of the |
| been lacking in cleanliness, attention to detail and / | | | | programme. On Alex Polizzi's advice, the owner |
| or marketing savvy. | | | | now had in place an experienced Hotel Manager |
| Anyway, the last episode I watched was all about | | | | who was providing real leadership. One of his |
| the owner. In all of the other episodes I have | | | | more long serving team members had been |
| seen, one glance at the hotel exterior, its | | | | made Conference and Banqueting manager and all |
| reception area or the room that the Inspector | | | | of the team were really buzzing. The new |
| was staying in has been enough to tell me what | | | | structure allowed people to have the authority to |
| the main issue was likely to be. This time, | | | | go with their responsibilities and the new Hotel |
| however, not so. The exterior looked lovely and | | | | Manager was clearly a much better motivator. |
| the hotel's location was clearly great. The | | | | The owner felt the need to state that he didn't |
| reception area was attractive and the room was | | | | like the chap, but at least he recognised he |
| very nice. I guessed that it had to be about the | | | | needed his skills. |
| people. I was wrong. It was about just one | | | | My company runs team building sessions for |
| person. The owner. | | | | groups at all levels in all walks of life. At the |
| He was a retired solicitor who decided to invest | | | | beginning of most of our activities, we give advice |
| his money into a hotel rather than put it in a bank | | | | to teams along these lines. We recommend that |
| or similar. These days, who can blame him for | | | | they appoint a leader for the duration of the |
| that? He'd owned the hotel for 12 years and in | | | | activity. A leader, we say, plays a vital role in |
| that time lost three quarters of a million pounds. I | | | | team effectiveness at work and also in the |
| know that because he must have mentioned it | | | | activity that they are about to experience. It is |
| five times at least during the show. His idea on | | | | not only someone who can make a decision if the |
| buying the hotel was to pop in occasionally, feel | | | | time is tight and there's no other way of doing so. |
| good about owning the place and take away a | | | | It is someone who can see the big picture, |
| bucket load of cash. The reality was that he was | | | | organise the people into a team and provide |
| a slave to the hotel, trusting no one but himself | | | | feedback to the team members. Had the owner |
| to do even the most menial of tasks. | | | | of that hotel ever been on one of our sessions, |
| There was the problem in a nutshell. Later in the | | | | perhaps he'd have appointed a manager sooner |
| programme he admitted that he was not a | | | | and not lost so much money. |
| manager. By then, every viewer already knew | | | | Although there was a new manager of the team, |
| that. Not only did we never once see him praise a | | | | the rest of the people were the same and what |
| member of his fairly large team (something that | | | | had been an ineffectual, almost surly and quiet |
| could have been the result of heavy editing) but | | | | group of individuals had become a team. |
| we actually saw him insult more than one team | | | | Sometimes building teams is about the person at |
| member. I suspect he thought he was being | | | | the top more than about the main team |
| amusing, but I can't imagine many people who | | | | members. If a team is one in which the whole is |
| would have found his comments other than totally | | | | greater than the parts, it is vital that the part at |
| demoralising. Calling a cleaner a "scrubber" is surely | | | | the top doesn't act in ways that stops all the |
| not in any good "how to manage people" book. | | | | other parts from performing to the best of their |
| Perhaps the thing that amazed me most was | | | | collective ability. |
| that, for someone who had wanted to turn up | | | | |