Leadership Development Plan

Natalie Martin
HTM 301 - Spring 2017 - Campbell
Meetings & Events
Host - Waypoint Public, North Park
Spring 2018
9 Major - To have peace and harmony
2 Minor - To be needed and appreciated

Vision and Goals

The Ideal Hospitality Leader

The hospitality industry is unique because it is centered around making others happy
and providing exceptional guest services. Leaders in the hospitality industry are successful by
giving their employees the tools and training they need to be successful. Once they have that, a
successful leader will continue to coach and train their employees, giving them recognition when
the do something correct and guiding them in the right direction when they do something wrong.
From my interviews with industry professionals, a common topic of discussion was the
importance of time-management, professionalism, and spirit of optimism. Time management is
important when getting work done, completing BEOs, getting back to clients in a timely manner,
ect. Professionalism is important in dealing with guests and your employees, and spirit of
optimism is important whenever something isnt going as planned, making the best of every
situation. From my most recent experience working in the hospitality industry, I learned the
importance of giving recognition to your employees when they do something correct. Without
receiving recognition for their actions, your employees wont want to work for you or go out of
their way to better the organization. I also learned that a manager should be able to establish a
relationship with all their employees where they are comfortable going to them with any work-
related concerns or problems they are facing. If an employee doesnt trust their managers, thats
where employees make mistakes because they act on their own without knowing if they are
doing the right thing or not. The behaviors for each of the competencies that are most
connected to my vision of the ideal leader in the HTM context would be technical service,
coaching & training, spirit of optimism.
My vision of the ideal leader in the hospitality and tourism context and the leader I
envision myself becoming is one that is very employee-oriented. Many of us have heard the
quote by J.W. Marriott, Take care of your people and they will take care of your customers, this
is a quote I would manage by. I have recently been in a position where I didnt feel my
managers and higher-ups recognized us for all the hard work we were putting into their
establishment and it made me not care about working hard, it made me feel bad for the
customers because no one wanted to provide exceptional guest service anymore, and
ultimately, it made me leave the company. At my new job, I could tell my manager truly
respected and cared for all of the employees that worked there and because of that, he receives
the respect he should by all the employees and that is exemplified in their interactions with the
guests. I especially love that he has created a work environment that I look forward to coming to
every day and one that creates repeat customers out of guest that walks in. That is the kind of
hospitality leader I hope to be in the future.

Career Goals

By graduation, I hope to know the kind of establishment I want to start a career in,
whether that be event planning in hotels or private event spaces, having more of an idea of what
I want to do. I also want to be better at saving money, that is something I struggle with and if I
want to stay in the San Diego area, I should learn to save money and budget better. I also hope
to become Excel Certified, Apple Certified and continue volunteering.
Within 5 years of my graduation, a short-term career goal I have for myself would be to
attain a catering sales job and to continue volunteering at different events and organizations
throughout San Diego. Working as a catering sales manager at a hotel would give me the
necessary insight and first-hand work experience I would need to learn what it takes to put on
an event and it would also help me build some connections in the industry. Volunteering would
also allow me to make new connections in the industry and could potentially lead me to a work
opportunity I never thought I would receive.
A long-term dream career that I never thought possible before would be to eventually
own my own eco-friendly, multi-use event space. Something where I could plan the events that
it would host and could host all kinds of events like weddings, music concerts, farmers markets,
workshops, swap meets. We could have a cafe, beer garden, or restaurant on property and
maybe even a dog park. My own event space that would keep me connected, give back to my
community, and still allow me to serve others and do what I love. I think working with this kind of
privately owned event space would play to my strengths because the events I would want to
execute are eclectic, community-based, and I could use my creativity to put on really unique and
forward-thinking events.

3 goals for your college journey

1. I will learn to stop procrastinating.

2. I will learn to be a better communicator.

3. I will gain more experience in the hospitality industry.

Reflections
 I think for the second simulation, we had great group chemistry which led to a great flow
of ideas from everyone, and I think I contributed creatively to that group very well. I was more
involved and hands-on in the second group simulation.
My strengths from my peers and industry observers were that I kept our group on track, I
maintained a spirit of optimism throughout both projects and I was respectful of others and their
ideas. I think an important realization I had about myself from receiving my results from our
industry professor was my lacking in the Self-Savvy: Professionalism area. I think
professionalism is something I will always strive to better myself in as I grow in this industry.
From this semester, I have realized that exemplifying professionalism in everything I do is
something I will always work towards, no matter how old I am or how long Ive been working in
hospitality. I really enjoyed meeting in person with both of the industry professionals that
evaluated my groups and discovering that not only did the PRINT Assessment and the
Strengthsfinder Assessment that I took on my own time reveal how much of an empathetic
person I am, but both of my evaluators took note of that as well. I think that really shows how
much my empathetic qualities shine through when working in a group. I think I could have tried
being a little more assertive and hands-on with our first project and the direction I saw it going. If
I could do something differently for both projects, I would have looked over the project more
thoroughly before getting to class. Doing this would have saved me and my group some time in
trying to understand what the project was about in class and potentially could have improved
our overall project just that much more.
These simulations have been exponentially helpful to me in learning more about myself
this semester and putting into words the my abilities when working in a group.

Competency Assessment

Critical Need Some Need About Average Some Strength Role Model
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Business Savvy:
Numberwise Rate: 4
- Communicates in the vocab of the industry
- Demonstrates understanding of industry-specific measures
- Shares financial goals and impacts with work group
- Uses appropriate data and reports to determine decisions
Planning Rate: 5
- Coordinates planning efforts with other work groups
- Translates strategic goals into specific tactics
- Preplans for potential problems
- Identifies steps needed to complete a project
Technical Service Rate: 5
- Acts efficiently
- Implements ideas to improve service
- Establishes processes to provide consistent service
- Makes things convenient and fast for customer
Creative Decision-Making Rate: 5
- Strives to improve the business
- Offers new ideas to grow the business
- Displays dissatisfaction with the status quo
- Is able to rethink or reconceptualize the business
People Savvy:
Intrapersonal Communication Rate: 6
- Listens to others
- Open to new ideas
- Resolves conflicts constructively
- Preserves relationships in difficult situations
Superior Expressive Service Rate: 5
- Goes above and beyond in all aspects of work
- Creates customer loyalty
- Makes personal connections with guests
- Takes pride in personality of service
Coaching Training Rate: 5
- Demonstrates adaptability
- Creates environment that supports continuous learning
- Accurately assesses people's strengths and weaknesses
- Teaches employees how to do their job effectively
Networked Rate: 4
- Stays connected to the industry
- Has a wide network of industry resources
- Maintains relationships outside of the company
 - Gives back to the community
Self Savvy:
Professionalism Rate: 5
- Treats others with respect and dignity
- Shows consistency with principles and values
- Establishes a high degree of trust with work group
- Models a confident demeanor
Time Management/Priorities Rate: 5
- Stays focussed on key priorities
- Balances multiple tasks
- Models productivity
- Delegates tasks for the best overall
Spirit of Optimism Rate: 6
- Uplifts the team when setbacks occur
- Energetic and positive persona
- Passionate
- Sees situations as win/win
Self Development Rate: 5
- Learns from mistakes
- Shows drive and initiative
- Holds themselves accountable
- Encourages and accepts feedback

Development Activity Ideas

 Strengths Weaknesses
Technical Service Numberwise
Intrapersonal Communication Networked
Spirit of Optimism Professionalism

Develop Activity Ideas

y Ideas: Description of Assignment:

refresher materials on common accounting and financialNumberwise
techniques used
competency
by middle
improvement
managers and aligned with career goal
membership of the San Diego chapter of Meeting Professionals
Networked
International
competency
by attending
improvement
an event
and aaligned
month with career goal
ment for evaluating your trustworthiness and professionalism
Professionalism competency and overall self improvement
of exactly how to handle specific front desk situation with
Professionalism
unhappy guestscompetency improvement
l interviews with professionals in your dream job Professional passions development