When I worked on the Outer Banks, I took on a lot of additional responsibilities. I did this without being prompted and without additional compensation. I just wanted to be more valuable.
One day, the director of the rental department said to me something along the lines of, “Even with everything you do, you’re still just basically a reservationist.”
Her words hit me like a gut punch. They made me feel defeated, worthless and hopeless.
I had been with that company for 3 years when she made the comment. I gave my notice a week or two later.
Had the rental director been a leader with more self-awareness and less ego, she wouldn’t have lost a key employee.
There’s a lesson to be learned here and not everyone will agree with me.
But, an a business owner and a manager, I believe that it’s your responsibility to become the leader that your employees need, not the other way around.
Every individual you hire, you do so because you see something in them that will benefit your company. It’s up to you to nurture that spark and allow them to become the most productive and engaged employee they can. Don’t forget, you benefit enormously from their productivity.
I believe that you must adapt your management style to the whirlwind that is a vacation rental business. Or risk alienating and losing your employees.
Like my rental director did.
So, what kind of leader are you?
My research turned up some interesting facts. There are fewer management styles than you might believe.Several are great tools for building and motivating a happy and productive team. Others seem to exist simply as an example of what not to do. We won’t be getting into those today.
Are you the visionary, who exudes passion? Do you have the singular ability to share your vision in such a way that your employees can’t wait to help you bring it to reality? This type of leader loves to lay the groundwork and then step back and watch, stepping in only to provide feedback or give additional direction.
This method offers employees a great deal of autonomy, which is a mixed bag. How much direction do your employees need? If left to their own devices, will they hold your vision or will they browse Facebook and Instagram?
It’s also a tough one to pull off. You have to have a high degree of passion and charisma. You also have to be able to communicate that passion in a way that resonates with your employees. It requires a strong personality and not everyone has that. You must be honest with yourself about your capabilities.
The democratic leadership style is typically the employee favorite. In this paradigm, the majority rules. Managers lead by team input. While they ultimately make the final decision, each employee’s input is expected, considered and valued. Properly executed, it leads to a team of engaged and productive employees, with high morale.
While this is a great model and seemingly easy to execute, one must be aware of overzealous managers (or employees) who try to influence the group and force their favored outcome. The flip side of that is a wishy-washy manager who can’t take action even after the majority has spoken and a course has been decided.
A transformational manager is one who is always trying to build a better mousetrap. They are the innovators, always pushing their employees beyond their comfort zones in the hope of helping them discover new and exciting skills and capabilities.
While this paradigm reportedly leads to happier and more productive employees, I see a couple of possible downsides. What of employees who simply don’t want to be challenged? They are content with their work and their place in the world. If they don’t view their current position as a career stepping-stone, they may become resentful.
And what of managers who don’t read their employees correctly and push beyond their capabilities? While I do see the benefit of this management style, I also see several possible minefields.
The last leadership style (at least for this post) is the coaching paradigm. This one turns managers into coaches, highly invested in their employees professional growth. These managers derive a great deal of satisfaction from teaching their employees how to be the best version of themselves.
Again, this is a wonderful style for employees who are eager for growth and opportunity. It may not work so well for employees who are in the latter part of their careers or for whom their job is simply that.
So, which of these models is the best for you? That depends on which is best for your employees.
As a manager and owner, it’s up to you to objectively evaluate each employee’s strengths and weaknesses and then lead them in a way that best benefits both the company and each employee individually.
This is the best case scenario for both your employees and your business. If your employees know they are appreciated and valued, they will happily work hard to be a positive influence on your business and with your guests and owners.
Your business benefits tremendously from productive, engaged employees who are happy to go above and beyond their job descriptions to see the ship running smoothly and efficiently.
Everything about the above scenario is a win-win for everyone.
And here, I’ll even throw a little woo-woo curve ball in here for you to think about. I believe that we attract the energy that we put out.
If you’re putting a disjointed, disgruntled and ineffective energy, you’re simply attracting more of the same. And that’s certainly not why you started this adventure.
Uplevel your management style(s), empower and engage your employees and attract the type of guests, owners and vendors that made you want your own vacation rental company to begin with.