Why Do Managers Hide in the Office When the Floor Is Short?
Short answer? On a short-staffed night, plenty of managers wander back to the office, because back there it feels like they've got a handle on things... the schedule, the labor report, the inbox. The floor feels like chaos. But that's exactly the night your team needs to see you. The rule I give my clients: short floor, manager's on it. Period.
What Happens in the First 90 Days of Executive Coaching?
So what actually happens in the first 90 days of executive coaching? With us, it's about getting honest about where you are and deciding where you want to go. Discover, Design, Execute, then a real check at the midpoint.
Coaching vs. Training: Which Does Your Management Team Need?
Training is where a group of leaders learns a skill together, usually in a workshop or a set program. Coaching is what happens over the following months, when one leader (or a whole leadership team) works on actually using it, spots what they've been missing and keeps getting better.
What Does a Hospitality Leadership Coach Actually Do?
A hospitality leadership coach helps C-suite executives, VPs, GMs, directors and owners lead people better, not run the place better. A former GM explains what the work looks like, what it costs and who it's for.
What Do ICF Credentials (ACC, PCC, MCC) Mean When Hiring a Coach?
What do ACC, PCC and MCC actually mean? A PCC working toward his MCC explains each ICF credential, which level senior leaders need, and how to check it.
How to Choose an Executive Coach: 8 Questions to Ask First
How do you choose an executive coach? A former GM turned coach shares the 8 questions to ask before you sign, from ICF credentials and cost to the red flags that mean keep looking.
Is Executive Coaching Worth It for a Hotel GM?
Is executive coaching worth it for a hotel GM? A former GM breaks down the ROI research, the real cost of GM turnover, and the five situations where coaching pays off fastest.
Forty Applications, Two Replies, and a Whole Lot of Silence
More than 1 in 4 job seekers has been searching for six months or longer, and some postings were never real. Here's how to spot ghost jobs and what still works for hospitality leaders looking for their next role.
Leaving Hotels? The Service Industries That Want Your Skills Most
Thinking about leaving hotels? Your skills are in demand. Here are the service industries hiring hospitality leaders most, from senior living to healthcare, and how to make the move.
How Much Does Executive Coaching Cost for Hospitality Leaders?
Executive coaching typically costs $200 to $3,500 an hour, with a median of about $500. Here’s what drives the price, what HLC charges, and how to judge whether it’s worth it for your hotel or restaurant.
The ROI of Executive Coaching for Restaurant Group Owners
If your restaurants run best when you’re in the building, you don’t have a staffing problem. You have a leadership bottleneck. Here’s what the research says about the return on executive coaching, and how to measure it in your own group.
How Do You Walk Into a High-Stakes Leadership Meeting With Confidence?
Most leaders prep for a high-stakes meeting by hunting for every angle someone could use against them. It backfires — thirty pages of defense instead of one clear plan. The Five Steps to Intentional Impact framework flips the order: start with the outcome you actually want, then work backward to the belief and the single action that gets you there.
Leadership Training, really?
I’m a leadership trainer and coach, but here’s something you might not expect: I don’t actually believe in leadership training, not the way it’s usually done. Sounds bold, yes, I know (a little clickbaity!) And yes, I’ll admit, that statement’s a bit provocative on purpose.
From Manager to Leader: Why Hospitality Teams Fail Without True Leadership
Most managers keep the lights on. Leaders keep people inspired.
In hospitality, the difference is everything. A manager can schedule shifts and approve invoices - but without true leadership, teams burn out, turnover spikes, and guest experiences suffer.
Great leaders do more than manage tasks. They model culture, coach their people, and connect the daily grind to a bigger vision. That’s how you build teams who stay, grow, and deliver consistently extraordinary service.
Read our latest post on how to help your managers step into leadership: From Manager to Leader: Why Hospitality Teams Fail Without True Leadership
#HospitalityLeadership #EmployeeEngagement #Coaching
A Small Habit That Changed the Way I Lead
The energy, mood, and effectiveness are surprisingly better when there is a friendly, hospitable atmosphere in a hospitality environment.
What’s Changing in Hospitality Leadership in 2025?
…Automation is reshaping hospitality at a staggering pace, some of it for the better, and like all progress, some of it for the worse.
Partnerships: The Mirror That Shows Us Who We Can Become
Great partnerships are more than business arrangements—they are mirrors that reveal our potential. From legendary duos in hospitality to transformative coaching relationships, the best partnerships thrive on trust, commitment, and mutual growth. When we root for each other’s success, we create something far greater than we ever could alone.
How to Approach Staff for Leadership Coaching: A Guide for HR Managers
Leadership coaching can be a transformative experience for hospitality professionals. It equips leaders with the tools to inspire their teams, solve complex problems, and create meaningful guest experiences. But here’s the key: for coaching to truly work, your team members need to want it.Coaching isn’t something to be forced on staff or used as a corrective measure. It’s a growth-driven opportunity that allows leaders to unlock their full potential. This is why the way you approach your employees about coaching is just as important as the coaching itself.If you’re an HR manager or senior leader in the hospitality industry…
The Power of Mentorship: Why Hospitality Leaders Need Coaches
In the fast-paced world of hospitality, where turnover rates are high and guest satisfaction hinges on team performance, one thing remains clear: staff members crave development. They want to feel valued, invested in, and supported as they grow—both personally and professionally. Yet, with the constant churn of employees in restaurants, hotels, and senior living facilities, fostering this sense of development can feel like…
Leadership and the Problem Yet to Come
The hospitality industry needs to invest in creating leaders who can solve problems that are yet to come. While managers are trained to follow the rules and have a list of solutions for frequent problems, we need to go beyond this level of training. Investing in leadership development is beneficial not only for the leaders themselves but for the organization as a whole.
What is Hospitality Leadership Insights?
Hospitality Leadership Insights is the article library of Hospitality Leadership Coach (HLC). The articles are written for general managers, department heads, restaurant owners and the leaders coming up behind them, by ICF-credentialed coaches who have run hotels and restaurants. Each one takes a single real problem, such as a first leadership role, a tense owners' meeting or a job search after hotels, and offers practical steps you can try this week.
On this page: Key takeaways · Topics · Where to start · Coaching vs. training · The research · FAQ
Key takeaways
- Hospitality Leadership Insights is the free article library of Hospitality Leadership Coach.
- Articles are written for hotel, restaurant and service leaders, from first-time managers to owners.
- Each article tackles one real problem and ends with steps you can try right away.
- The research behind the work is linked below, so you can check the sources yourself.
- Published by
- Hospitality Leadership Coach
- Written for
- Hotel, restaurant, healthcare and service leaders
- Reviewed by
- Clifton Carmody, PCC, ACTC
- Cost
- Free to read
Topics we cover
The library covers five areas that come up again and again in hotels, restaurants and other service businesses: stepping up from manager to leader, the cost and return of coaching, career moves, high-stakes meetings, and building a service culture people want to stay in.
- Moving from manager to leader: what changes when you lead leaders, not shifts.
- Executive coaching costs and ROI: what coaching costs and how owners judge the return.
- Careers and job searches: where hospitality skills transfer and how leaders get hired.
- Confidence in high-stakes meetings: owners' meetings, reviews and hard conversations.
- Engagement and service culture: relationships, mentorship and teams that stay.
Where to start
If you are new to Hospitality Leadership Coach, these four articles give the clearest picture of how we think about leadership, what coaching costs, how owners measure the return, and where hospitality skills transfer.
- From Manager to Leader: Why Hospitality Teams Fail Without True Leadership
- How Much Does Executive Coaching Cost for Hospitality Leaders?
- The ROI of Executive Coaching for Restaurant Group Owners
- Leaving Hotels? The Service Industries That Want Your Skills Most
Coaching vs. training: what's the difference?
Training teaches a group new knowledge or skills. Coaching helps one leader, or one leadership team, apply those skills on the job over time. Most lasting change comes from combining the two.
| Training | Coaching | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | A group learning together | One leader, or one leadership team |
| Goal | New knowledge and skills | Applying those skills on the job, under real pressure |
| Format | Workshops and programs | Regular sessions over several months |
Hospitality Leadership Coach offers both, and many teams combine them. See all offerings.
The research behind the articles
Three studies explain why the articles focus on managers and coaching: managers drive most of a team's engagement, and coaching helps training stick.
| Finding | Source |
|---|---|
| Managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement across business units. | Gallup |
| Training alone raised productivity by 22.4%; adding eight weeks of one-to-one coaching raised it to 88%. | Olivero, Bane and Kopelman, 1997 |
| A study of 43 leaders at a Fortune 500 company estimated a 529% return on executive coaching. | MetrixGlobal, via the ICF Research Portal |
Why leadership is the theme
According to Gallup research, managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement across business units. That is why most articles here focus on the person running the shift, the kitchen or the property. For background on the discipline itself, see the overview of coaching on Wikipedia and the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
Frequently asked questions
Who writes these articles?
The team at Hospitality Leadership Coach, led by founder Clifton Carmody, PCC, ACTC, and his partner, Edward Vicedo, MCC, ACTC, who have 40+ combined years in hotels and restaurants. Every member of the team holds an International Coaching Federation credential.
Who are the articles for?
Leaders in hotels, restaurants, healthcare and other service businesses: owners, general managers, department heads, and people preparing for their first leadership role.
How much does executive coaching cost?
Senior Leader and High-Potential Coaching is $15,000 and Executive Coaching starts at $20,000, each for six months. Team coaching starts at $5,500 and assessments are $600 each. The cost guide explains what drives the price.
Can I talk to someone about my own situation?
Yes. Book a discovery call. It usually runs about 45 minutes and helps you decide on a starting point.