Service Leadership Competency Interview Form

DATE OF INTERVIEW

9.19.14

TIME OF INTERVIEW

2:45pm

INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS

Laura Landon

TITLE

Executive Director

ORGANIZATION

American Diabetes Association, Arizona

TENURE

25+ years in Conference and Special Event

Management

BRIEF BACKGROUND

10+ years Non-profit management, ADA

15 years Conferences & Special Event
Management, UC Davis

Introduction
Introduce yourself and the purpose of the interview
We are doing some research on leadership in the hospitality industry and we are
hoping to get your insights. The information we receive will be used to help
enhance our framework of leadership competencies, which will guide how we
educate and train our students for careers in the industry. We dont need to know
any detailed information about your organization; our focus is on your opinion of
what really distinguishes great leaders in the service environment.
Do you have any particular questions of me or concerns before begin? I have
three areas I would like to talk with you about. I expect our entire conversation
will last about 20 minutes.

Interview Questions
Key Industry Issues
The purpose of this area is to ease into the discussion of leadership
competencies by discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
The intent is to identify key industry issues which can be linked to necessary
leadership competencies.
Question 1a:
What are some of the most challenging issues facing hospitality and
tourism organizations these days? How do they pose problems for
managers working in these organizations?
Challenges:
1. Increasing operating costs
2. More competitive marketplace
3. Larger corporate conglomerations
Resulting Problems:
1. Profit margin shrinks causing ripple effect, such as reduced staff with
inadequate training and higher turnover
2. Global, bundled, and multimedia marketing make it difficult to impossible
for smaller properties
3. Dominant, larger properties have both stronger brand awareness and
economy of scale advantages that managers are asked to compensate for
or match in value.
Question 1b:
What are the biggest changes your managers will face in the next few
years?
1. They will need to be increasingly on technology-based delivery systems.
This will be particularly difficult when managing older, yet highly
experienced staff with seasoned customer service skills. I believe the
division between staff generations will be magnified and mentoring
relationships of the past will be inverted. e.g. younger, newer, and more
transient staff will be "training" more seasoned staff.
2. Both younger and seasoned staff expect to be compensated for the
characteristics they consider most valuable, yet the shrinking net margin
makes this impractical.
3. While customer service continues to be one of the biggest variances in
consumer satisfaction, a customer's expectations have expanded in
correlation to their ability to compare all costs and services on mobile
devices.

Managerial Challenges
The purpose of this area is to understand how changes within the industry have
created new challenges for operating managers. We want to clarify the context in
which managers must coordinate and control HTM organizations.
Question 2a.
Has the manner in which you manage employees in service areas changed
over the past few years? How has this caused a challenge for line
managers?
Yes, managing employees has changed significantly over the past ten years.
Entry level staff expect higher starting wages, faster promotion, more flexibility
with hours and duties, and premium pay for learning new skills. Staff are also
more transient, and tend to have several part-time jobs. These shifts have
caused challenges for managers because the result is higher turnover, more time
spent hiring, and training new staff. We also need to hire more staff to ensure
coverage, which ultimately perpetrates the cycle.
Question 2b.
How has the shift in employee needs impacted your management staff?
To effectively manage these changes in the employee base, managers need to
be very flexible with staff and be prepared to respond to employee expectations.
To anticipate these new staff variables, managers must 1) clearly write
application materials and job descriptions, which they can refer back to, 2) in the
interview process clarify hours, spectrum of duties, and skills required, 3)
reinforce expectations in the training process and outline how to advance in the
organization, 4) provide regular feedback, both formal and informal, so staff
always know where they stand professionally.
Service Leader Competencies
The purpose of this area is to identify the specific knowledge, behaviors, and
skills that are important for service leaders. These usually form the basis for
learning and development opportunities.
Question 3a:
We have identified three broad areas of competencies important for
maximizing service quality. The first dimension is business savvy, and it
includes four competencies. Please identify for me some specific
behaviors that you believe are important for each of the four competencies
as I describe them.
Numberwise A service leader with this competency is able to exhibit an
understanding of hospitality and tourism metrics at a micro and macro level as
well as be able to utilize the measures and variances to improve performance.

Ex: Can you tell me about managers in your organization who are really good
with numbers. . . what are some specific things they do well?
Ironically, the managers who work with budgets, catering counts, set-up
capacities, etc. don't tend to be particularly good at math. Big picture, resultsfocused managers tend to be the best at reconciling budgets while providing the
best services within the customer's budget. The most important skill is logic, not
math. The strongest numbers managers I have worked with compare the pros
and cons of several options before presenting bids to customers. They must also
anticipate potential questions/concerns of customers and how to respond with
contingencies, as well as how to protect the margin when counts decrease or
increase.
Planning This involves the ability to create and translate a shared vision as well
as prepare, execute and measure department goals and contingency plans.
Ex: How do you identify managers who are good at planning in your
organization? What do they do that tells you they are good planners?
I put managers in challenging, but low risk, situations to see how they respond.
I've also found it helpful to put teams together to see who emerges as the leader.
Managers who develop contingency plans and anticipate needs, both the
customer's and ours, have proven to be good planners.
Strategic Decision-Making This means using all available resources to make
decisions as well as finding creative ways to solve guest problems and maximize
opportunities.
Ex: Do managers need to think strategically in your organization? What are
some specific behaviors or attributes of good strategic thinkers?
Strategic thinking is vital in any successful business. Specific behaviors I look for
in managers are the:
Ability to prioritize tasks and define appropriate timelines to
accomplish them
Ability to assess the skills of their staff team and delegate tasks to
staff who are capable of accomplishing the tasks within the time
available
Ability to adjust the plan if the current plan isn't working, making
sure to keep key collaborators, and customer (when appropriate)
informed.
Superior Technical Service This competency involves being able to use
systems, processes, procedures and technology to provide consistently efficient
and quick service.

Ex: Weve found that service leaders must be good an developing efficient
service systems. . . can you tell me about some activities managers you work
with are involved in to make things quicker and easier for the customer?
Many good managers develop templates of packages that have worked for them
with options that they can swap out easily. Managers who quickly learn, or keep
cheat sheets, of people to food/space/service time ratios are able to speak
knowledgeably with and help customers to reach decisions quickly.
Question 3b:
The second dimension is people savvy, and it also includes four
competencies. Please identify for me some specific behaviors that you
believe are important for each of the four competencies as I describe them.
Interpersonal Communication This competency is the importance of being an
active listener, using intuition to build relationships, and having quality one-onone interactions with staff in an effort to improve open communication and a
service-oriented workplace.
Always look for common ground to reinforce that both staff want the same
outcome. Look for opportunities to collaborate with other staff that build
camaraderie and trust. Acknowledge other staff for providing exceptional
service, creative problem solving, etc.
Networked This competency involves meeting new people, actively
participating in industry associations, collaborating with other companies, and
giving feedback to the community with their time and involvement.
Staff who participate in community events and volunteer projects always have
more perspective on customer needs, community trends, and our competitors.
Coaching/Training Good coaches/trainers accurately assess peoples strengths
and weaknesses, build talent in the work group, and give actionable feedback
and coaching.
Our best managers know what their staff's long and short-term professional goals
are and provide them with opportunities to build skills to make progress toward
their goals. Strong managers also give immediate and specific positive and
constructive feedback.
Superior Expressive Service This leader would go out of his/her way to make a
personal connection with each client and customer.
Ex: Weve also found that service leaders must be great at customer
interactions and surpassing guest expectations. Can you identify someone in
your organization who is great at doing this. . .what specifically do they do?

1) She meets customers where they are in the process,

2) Asks questions about the client's vision of a highly successful event
3) Communicates with the client frequently
4) Always provides client with a value-added proposition that are available to her,
for example:
"I know you're concerned about the budget, but want to receive your
guests graciously. I was able to secure complimentary valet service for
you from our vendor".
Question 3c:
And the last dimension of competencies is self savvy, and it includes four
competencies. Please identify for me some specific behaviors that you
believe are important for each of the four competencies as I describe them.
Professionalism A manager displaying this competency shows integrity in
his/her choices, treats employees and customers with the utmost respect, values
diversity, and communicates in a manner appropriate for the situation.
Confident humility and polite persistence are the qualities I've seen in our most
professional managers.
Time Management/Priorities A leader strong is this area would plan ahead, set
and keep personal deadlines, and focus on those tasks that maximize results.
Managers who are able to anticipate the time it takes to accomplish tasks (or to
ask someone if they don't know) is able to be effective in managing time-lines.
Building in a margin of error is also a key part of an effective time-managers
timelines.
Self Development This competency reflects a leader who has a willingness to
continuously self improve, try new things, and reflect.
Curious and enthusiastic staff tend to be the fastest to improve their skills.
Leaders who are competitive with themselves, not others, are able to look at
each experience objectively and are the most effective learners.
Spirit of Optimism A leader with this competency would be energetic, selfmotivated, open-minded, and lead with the contagious spirit of optimism.
People are magnetized and motivated by people who they feel good around. I
have a manager who makes everyone feel smart, important and good at what
they are doing. She compliments often and realigns gently. Everyone wants to
work with or for her; clients request that she manage their function.
Is there anything we havent covered that you want to highlight or suggest?
Nope!