LEADERSHIP MATTERS What it takes to be a Hays Travel Senior Leader
CONTENTS Foreword from Dame Irene Hays.............................................................................................................................................1 Our Vision...........................................................................................................................................................................................2 Our Mission........................................................................................................................................................................................3 Our Hays Travel Strategy............................................................................................................................................................4 Our most valued leadership qualities...................................................................................................................................5 Leadership checklists....................................................................................................................................................................7 Integrity............................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Positivity.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Flexibility............................................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Clear communicator.....................................................................................................................................................................13 Builds strong relationships........................................................................................................................................................15 Innovative and creative...............................................................................................................................................................17 Problem solver................................................................................................................................................................................19 Passionate about performance...............................................................................................................................................21 Inspires and supports others to succeed..........................................................................................................................23 Decisive..............................................................................................................................................................................................25 Dependable..................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Why good leadership matters................................................................................................................................................28
Foreword from Dame Irene Hays
My career has taken me from running councils in the North East to government departments in Whitehall. Along the way I have been fortunate to work with many brilliant people. That said, and as I have commented many times, given the choice between working with someone holding a business qualification from Cambridge or Harvard and a member of our Senior Leadership team here at Hays Travel – I would choose our team every time. The can-do, collaborative, and supportive approach of every member is the glue that binds us and the foundation of our future growth and success. It’s because you are so brilliant that I have prepared this guide for our Hays Travel leaders. I’m a firm believer in
self-awareness and group development – individual and collective growth will keep us on a continued trajectory of success. The guide sets out Hays Travel’s most valued leadership traits so we can reflect on where we are strong, and where there is room for improvement. I hope that you find it useful and that we can learn from each other, leaning in and asking for help and guidance where we need it, offering it in turn to colleagues who ask for help. We are ambitious here at Hays Travel, for ourselves and our business. We are in an exciting time in our growth and I could not be happier to have you as a travel companion…
Dame Irene Hays
V1
OUR VISION
To be the most profitable independent travel agency in the UK; supporting our people, our customers, and the communities where we operate.
2
OUR MISSION
We are committed to the growth and development of our business by offering excellent customer service and competitive prices, we create loyal, happy customers who come back to us time and again and recommend us to their friends and family. We recognise the valuable contribution our employees make to our business success, and we are committed to developing our colleagues through training and coaching
to maximise their job satisfaction and performance in a friendly, fun and supportive environment. We are committed to environmentally responsible operations and to building long-lasting, supportive, and ethical partnerships with our suppliers and local communities.
3
OUR VISION
To be the most profitable independent travel agency in the UK; supporting our people, our customers, and the communities where we operate.
2024/25 STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Customer Acquisition and Retention
Product and Supplier Mix
Data Strategy
Cruise Proposition
Customer Experience
SUPPORTING PILLARS
Supporting our Communities
Investing in our People
Customer Service Excellence
Sustainability
OUR SMILE VALUES UNDERPIN EVERYTHING WE DO
Supportive
Motivational
Innovative
Loyal
Excellent
We listen so everyone feels heard and that they belong
We inspire and appreciate each other and exceed expectations
We are flexible and respond positively to change and opportunities
We build and maintain trust by being open and transparent
We maintain a growth mindset and keep improving
4
OUR MOST VALUED LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
n Integrity
n Problem solver
n Positivity
n Passionate about performance
n Flexibility
n Inspires and supports others to achieve
n Clear communicator
n Decisive
n Builds strong relationships
n Dependable
n Innovative and creative
5
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson Former President of The United States of America
6
INTEGRITY
n Having a strong set of shared values that you stand by no matter what.
n Sharing success when things go right.
n Maintaining confidentiality and keeping confidences.
n Always behaving honourably.
n Making ethical decisions, treating other people well, and behaving morally because it’s the right thing to do. n Taking responsibility for your own actions and those of your team when things go wrong.
n Being honest, always.
n Acting with professionalism.
7
Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Sir Winston Churchill Former Prime Minister of The United Kingdom
8
POSITIVITY
n Creating a positive work environment for our people.
n Encouraging good results and behaviours.
n Displaying empathy for the circumstances of others.
n Staying upbeat even when things go wrong or are difficult.
n Championing equality, diversity and inclusion and respecting difference.
n Making people feel happy and valued.
n Challenging effectively when people do not perform or behave appropriately.
n Setting a good example by managing own wellbeing through work / life balance.
9
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
Charles Darwin British naturalist
10
FLEXIBILITY
n Embracing change and recognising its importance in making progress.
n Proposing alternative approaches when things are not working.
n Welcoming and encouraging feedback and suggestions from others.
n Staying adaptable and recognising adaptability in others.
n Knowing that you are not always right or have all the answers.
n Seeking to understand resistance to change.
n Removing obstacles to help others achieve their goals.
n Managing challenges and the unexpected - and taking others with you.
11
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
Helen Keller American author
12
CLEAR COMMUNICATOR
n Explaining purpose and objectives in an understandable way.
n Checking facts and grammar in your own work and that of others.
n Actively listening – seeking to understand then respond.
n Taking care with non-verbal communication, which is easy to misread.
n Creating open communication channels that support understanding and enable questions.
n Presenting in an accessible and engaging style.
n Speaking to large audiences with clarity, passion, and conviction.
n Using clear, structured language in verbal communications to ensure understanding.
n When writing using audience-appropriate language, tone and style that is easy to understand.
13
A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe Polymath and writer
14
BUILDS STRONG RELATIONSHIPS
n Having a collaborative style that achieves shared objectives.
n Giving positive feedback to others on their ideas and suggestions.
n Empathising with the objectives of others and seeking mutual benefit.
n Being respectful always.
n Maintaining professionalism.
n Building rapport by taking an interest in the challenges and objectives of others.
n Putting the time in for proper preparation.
n Managing conflict effectively in a style that is timely and clear.
n Using good social skills.
15
The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Former President of Liberia
16
INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE
n Having an open mind.
n Being collaborative – accepting that no individual is as creative as we are together.
n Using sound critical thinking, based on what is to be achieved and the steps required to get there.
n Seeking diverse views.
n Thinking ‘outside the box’ – looking at challenges from a different perspective to seek solutions.
n Staying curious and interested.
n Researching ‘best in class’ examples, both within the sector and more broadly.
17
Success is often to be found at the edge of failure..
John Adair Author and leading authority on leadership
18
PROBLEM SOLVER
n First recognising that there is a problem.
n Building a team of people around you to support as required.
n Using research, data and/or insight from various sources to find a solution.
n Learning from others, taking advice then being decisive.
n Thinking analytically.
n Recording decisions and lessons learned to help others.
n Staying calm and identifying achievable steps to reach a solution quickly and effectively.
19
The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.
John Maxwell American author
20
PASSIONATE ABOUT PERFORMANCE
n Putting our people’s performance at the heart of our leadership though appraisals and regular feedback, meeting training and development needs, and reward and recognition.
n Communicating effectively what is expected and by when.
n Measuring performance consistently with colleagues and at operational board.
n Being involved in setting objectives and KPIs as part of the annual planning cycle.
n Coaching, supporting, and mentoring our teams to enhance performance.
n Being clear about how and why
n Taking appropriate action when performance is off-track.
performance, objectives and KPIs are measured.
21
When we are together, there is nothing we cannot achieve.
Dame Judi Dench Actor
22
INSPIRES AND SUPPORTS OTHERS TO SUCCEED
n Teaching, coaching, and mentoring others.
n Clearly communicating regularly about the big picture and everyone’s role in achieving success.
n Acknowledging that everyone is valuable and recognising unique skills and contributions.
n Recognising, celebrating, and rewarding achievement.
n Offering support, ideas, and encouragement to others.
n Giving clear feedback.
n Focusing on others’ success rather than your own - genuinely wanting them to succeed and celebrating their achievements when they do.
n Inspiring and motivating others to learn and achieve.
n Ensuring our people understand that their training and development needs are taken seriously.
23
Leaders grasp nettles.
David Ogilvy British advertising tycoon
24
DECISIVE
n Making informed decisions that enable progress, solve problems, and harness opportunities. n Valuing the role of research, information, hypotheses, external factors, and strategy in reaching conclusions.
n Seeking, inviting and welcoming the views of others to test decisions.
n Taking responsibility for making the decision and sharing its success or otherwise honestly.
n Providing clear and timely communications on decisions and what they will achieve.
25
Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
Publilius Syrus Latin writer
26
DEPENDABLE
n Being trustworthy and reliable.
n Focusing on detail and delivery.
n Keeping promises and doing what you say you will – every time.
n Having a back-up plan.
n Staying loyal to your people and those in colleagues’ teams.
n Meeting deadlines.
n Being on time, always.
27
WHY GOOD LEADERSHIP MATTERS
At Hays Travel, if we are not good leaders individually it weakens our Senior Leadership Team for everyone, and ultimately our business. It is incumbent on us all to be better leaders every day – taking our leadership role equally as seriously as our specialism. Not for us, but for the 4,000 people that we lead.
There is no magic formula; the only way to be a good leader is to accept that it is a vital part of our job and relish the challenge.
28
The higher you climb the more time you need to spend on leading properly; working on the things in this book is a good start, every single day…but only just forever!
Dame Irene Hays Director
29
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