How Leaders Build Confidence with Their Team

Speaker A: Every day I think about encouragement. I think about what can I say or do today that will encourage people, make a difference, uplift them, and remind them that they truly matter and that I value them. Sometimes it's praise for the contribution, it's acknowledging their efforts, and sometimes it's just simply being fully present and listening to their concerns. Welcome to the Elevated Hospitality Podcast. My name is Tal, and I'm excited you decided to spend a few minutes with me today because I wanted to share three, three strategies to help you build confidence and belief in your team. Because I think knowledge without confidence can lead to hesitation. And skills without belief can create dependency. And empowerment without preparation can create frustration. We all know in hospitality, you spend a lot of time teaching people what to do, right? We teach them the standards, the procedures, steps of service, and guest expectations. But here's the question that I would like for you to deeply meditate on and reflect on. What would happen if the people on your team truly believed they were capable of becoming more of being more of their best version of themselves? Would they feel motivated, inspired, and empowered to go the extra mile to create memorable experiences? I think we all know the answer to that question, but how do you go about doing it? How can we be intentional about building this confidence every day with our team? So let's talk about those three strategies to build that confidence and belief. I call it equipping, encouraging, and empowering your team. Number one is about equipping your team because we give people what they need to be successful. I'm very big on that. Because if you want to set your team up for success, that competence is really important. Equipping them to success and confidence begins with. With, uh, that competence. Don't you think? Think about a time when you were truly felt competent in your role. You know, what you were doing. You had the knowledge, the skills to answer guest questions. You could handle challenges with confidence because you understood your role and you knew how to execute it well. And something else happened there. You became someone the team couldn't really depend on. You weren't just completing tasks. You were creating experiences. I'm sharing this with you because I really want you to reflect on a time when you are really, you know, on fire and very, very confident with your skills and knowledge. Because people feel, you know, sometimes there's a struggle to feel confident when they don't know what they're doing. And we've all experienced that, right. Or we don't understand what are we trying to accomplish here. So I think that as leaders, we have that Responsibility to provide the following clear expectations, training and development. And that means ongoing training and development, giving them the resources, the systems, the sops that they need and watching them practice and giving them feedback and coaching because it's an opportunity to learn and grow that confidence. But let's make an important distinction. Equipping isn't just giving someone information. I mean, you can give somebody a binder that has a lot of sops and handouts, but that does not give them confidence. So here's what I like for you to think about. And this is a question from a training perspective as we reflecting on the training. Have I given this person enough understanding and practice? Here's the key practice that they can actually do this, because practice does create that confidence. In hospitality, this is so important because we're asking people to make decisions, we're asking people to read situations, connecting with guests, and sometimes respond in moments that aren't really scripted and ready for. So you can build confidence by giving people what they need and to set them up for success, because eventually that's a reflection on you and so you want to equip them. The second strategy is about encouragement. And, um, I'm big on encouragement because I think that people take it for granted. I think as leaders, we take encouragement for granted and we forget to do it. But I think that it's not about intentions, it's about actually action. You know, it's about helping people see what they can't see yet. And so we need to communicate that encouragement because sometimes people don't lack ability, they lack belief in themselves. We've all been there, right? Sometimes we say, you know, listen, hey, boss, I'm not ready for this. I'm not. I'm just not good enough yet. I've never done this before. What if I make a mistake? And sometimes one leader can become that voice, that inspiration that changes the narrative. And it's talking about, you know what? I do believe you can do this. I've got your back. I'm supportive of you. You ready for this? And here's what I saw the other day. You really handled it very well. So encouragement isn't an m empty praise. Encouragement is helping people recognize progress, development, growth, potential in their possibility. And a leader who points out, uh, what is wrong can create employees who become afraid of making mistakes. And we don't. That a leader who coaching and giving that encouragement is creating an environment where people are willing to learn and grow. Hey, the last strategy is about empowerment because I think it's about giving, you know, you're equipping, you're encouraging now. Now it's time to kind of unleash that potential. Right? It's unleashing their greatness, not your greatness, because it's about giving people permission to step forward and take action on their own, even though it's not going to be perfect. Once people are equipped and encouraging, they want to be empowered. That's when leadership steps in. Because you're, you're saying, I'm trusting you, and I think that I, I'm here for you. We're not just letting them, you know, go out there, but we're still there. Empowerment means that, uh, we are, we're allowing people to, to be who they are. Really, when I think about it, without that criticism or, or, you know, finding negative things, it's about giving them the ownership. It's about allowing them to make mistakes, and it's about solving problems. Uh, it means stepping up. And every time that, um, you, you're there to still encourage them while they're. They're making mistakes. And that's how they learn. That's how I learned. That's how you learned. And here's an important leadership lesson here. If you never let people make decisions or make mistakes, don't be surprised when they're stopped making those decisions and learning. Because sometimes leaders unintentionally create dependency. And I've seen it often. I've, uh, you know, sometimes I do it. But when we want initiative, we sometimes want that decision to be made, and then we correct it and we take over, and we're not really letting them grow and learn from that process. So you cannot empower people while constantly taking the wheel away from them. And here's a cycle that I want you to remember as you're listening to this episode is equip, encourage empowerment. Confidence leads to growth. When I equip you, you become more capable. When I encourage you, you begin to believe you're capable. When I empower you, you get the opportunity to demonstrate what you're capable of. And when you experience success, learn from failure and realize you can handle more than you thought, your confidence grows. Then something beautiful happens. Because confident people become more willing to take ownership and responsibility. They become more willing to speak up and do things that they become more willing to go that extra mile, they become more willing to serve, they become more willing to lead. And eventually they begin building confidence in someone else. Wow. How about that? That's real leadership. Now let's bring it back to hospitality, because hospitality isn't just about teaching someone how to deliver a service standard. It's about developing the person behind the service. Because the guest doesn't experience our training manual, the guests experience our people. I want to say this one more time because this is such an aha moment. The guest doesn't experience our training manual. They experience our people. And when our people feel confident, cared for, equipped and trusted, they can create something that no training manual or checklist for that matter, can create human connection. Now, here's what I think. We don't just train people to execute a standard. We develop people so they have the confidence to create meaningful experiences. Here's a leadership challenge for you as you listen. You know who's on your team that needs equipment today? Maybe we need to look at their training guides, their resources systems to set them up for success initially. Right? That's what they're looking for. They also need encouragement. Who needs encouragement on your team today? Who needs to be empowered? I want you to ask these three questions. Who needs to be equipped? Who needs to be encouraged? And who needs to be empowered? Those are the kind of questions I like for you to think about. Because leadership isn't about getting people to perform, although some people think that way. But it's really about helping people discover what they're capable of and who they becoming. Because sometimes the greatest thing a leader can give someone isn't just another instruction, but it's the belief, the confidence that you can share with others. Because believe in them before they can fully believe in themselves. That's what my greatest mentors have done for me. So I want to challenge you to think about these questions. And because we want that confidence in them so they can deliver that hospitality, to elevate that. So our job as leaders isn't, uh, just simply to teach people how to do the work, but it's helping them believe they're capable of something more than that, to have meaning and purpose in their work and becoming the best version of themselves. Listen. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of Elevated Hospitality. I'll see you next week. Take care.