Three Ways to Spot a Bad Boss Even on Vacation

Vacations should bring out the best in everyone. After a hectic sales quarter, an organizational re-frame or some department discord, vacations are a time to kick back and let the best version of you take the reins. Those of us in the hospitality industry can spot your management style - good or bad - even when you’re way, way out of your office environment. Here’s how we can tell: How do you greet service staff? Do you greet servers with a smile and say hello? Maybe ask them how their day is going? Or do you get right down to business with your order, barely acknowledging their presence? Great managers understand the value of cultivating all relationships, and know that what you put out there, generally comes back tenfold. Managers who are genuinely interested in their employees and take a minute out of their day check in with them create a positive environment where employees feel valued. And that can add up to increased productivity: satisfied employees put more into their day and take less time off. Conversely, managers who wave their hand commanding attention or immediately begin barking orders set an unpleasant tone whether in a Tiki bar or at the office. Being the boss doesn’t mean being louder than others or more curt as a means of demanding respect. Quite the opposite is true. A great manager can lead with a whisper. How do you handle setbacks? In the cruise line and resort industries, ship can happen. And it says a lot about a person’s management style the way they handle service failures. Great managers will keep an issue in perspective and negotiate a reasonable solution knowing that attending staff have the best intentions. A dripping tap, soft mattress or an overdone steak are all manageable issues that won’t ruin an entire getaway. These guests use the proper channels, agree on resolutions, timing and get back to the big picture of enjoying their well deserved vacation. Bad managers can blow up small issues so they compound quickly. One service failure can dominate every thought, robbing them of their own precious (and obviously much needed) relaxation. These guests want to be over compensated for relatively minor mishaps because they put themselves first. In the office, if every minor mishap is examined under a critical lens and regurgitated at staff meetings, this management style will shut down employees’ sense of creativity or ownership of projects. Staff members don’t plot mistakes to affront their manager. But a bad manager will focus on the error, not the learning. Are you surfing waves or your company website? Great managers understand the value of down time and plan ahead for their time away from the office. Vacation time is treated the same as any project, with assigned contacts and contingency plans. They are confident in their team’s ability to manage in their absence. After all, they lead by example. A bad manager, through either arrogance or insecurity, will remain obsessed with the idea that the office will crumble without them. Will Amanda take an extra five minutes at lunch? Could be catastrophic. These managers are unsure of their own leadership influence and the systems they’ve built so that their body’s in beachwear but their head is back in the office. These managers follow their expected responsibility rather than lead their team. Truly, a waste of an excellent margarita. Be the manager staff members look forward to seeing return to the office refreshed and full of ideas. Good management skills and practices - learned or intuitive - have powerful benefits for the other little job you have: life.