Leadership Imperatives In Hospitality

While great food is important, quality customer service and guest relations are critical to the success of your restaurant. Imagine you are going out for an anniversary dinner at your favorite restaurant with your loved one. You already know what you’re going to order before you sit down. The server walks over and is a disheveled mess. There is no formal greeting, just a “what can I get you to drink?” The lackluster attitude carries throughout the meal and you are left less than satisfied, even though your entrée was marvelous. It is experiences like these that show just how crucial quality customer service truly is to your restaurant. Maybe it wasn’t the server’s fault, maybe this is the norm for this establishment. Where is that manager who

These are known as the four leadership imperatives. If you were to use them individually from each other, they could provide some positive affects for your restaurant operation. “When used as a combined set of leadership strategies, the separate influences and power of all four imperatives form a synergistic movement that can make a real difference in a hospitality organization.” (Martin 92) The four leadership imperatives are: “#1: Leaders of service providers must provide a strong sense of personal control over job outcomes and behaviors to the entire service team. #2: Leaders of service providers must instill a sense of meaning and contribution in service work. #3: Leaders of service workers have an obligation to make sure a strong sense of social connection develops at work. #4: Leaders of service workers are called to a higher calling, to understand and respect that the workplace has the potential to become a source of significant personal growth and development.” (Martin

Quality service is something the guest just doesn’t expect, they demand it. In order to achieve quality customer service, you need a quality service culture and supportive leadership climate to make quality service possible. Your management team plays an important role in helping shape the culture of your restaurant and by setting the example for your staff to follow. You want your staff to feel they have autonomy with their jobs, their jobs are meaningful, they are valued and that there is room for personal growth. If this is present in your establishment, you are on the road to quality customer service, which is important to the success of your