Developing Leadership and Management Skills Case Study

Introduction - Psychodynamic Leadership at Glencoe House Hotel

Developing leadership and management skill is a process to become an effective leader for the team and organization. To develop leadership skill there are various methods that will be explored in the assessment. For the following report Glencoe House Hotel a Britain-based hotel will be selected. The hotel is known for its quality service and good quality service as well. Further some context of the psychodynamic approach and Glencoe House Hotel will be provided. Moreover, an overview of the selected hotel will be mentioned including key characteristics, challenges and opportunities. Nevertheless, some potential impacts of while adopting the psychodynamic according to organisational performance will be identified. Further, the assessment will identify specific indicators of distress with examples. Lastly, some alternative leadership approaches will be selected that will be suitable for the hotel.

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Main Body

Background and Context

Psychodynamic Approach

The psychodynamic approach is a type of leadership approach that focuses on individual behaviour to improve the work performance of the organization. It is very well-known fact that employees are the assets of the company so it is the responsibility of the organization to take care of the needs and requirements of the worker (Petriglieri and Petriglieri, 2020). Moreover, the leader can adopt the psychodynamic approach it will help them to understand individuals to identify their needs and potential. The approach also encourage open communication between the leader and team which results in the organization have more creative ideas and innovation. Nevertheless psychodynamic approach can be very helpful for the hotel management as well. Moreover,r at the time of season the worker works under work pressure at that time the leader can apply some solutions with the help of this approach. The approach also increases employee loyalty toward the organization and provide them with better opportunities.

Independent Boutique Luxury Hotel Sector

Independent boutique hotels are mostly owned by families for long periods and are known for the unique quality of services provided to the guests. The boutique hotels is mostly small or medium in size but have good market recognition to compete with the largest hotel chain. As the boutique hotels are independent the management can come up with different ideas for innovation and creativity in the services (Alrawadieh, Alrawadieh and Cetin, 2021). Boutique hotels have different and unique themes to represent the culture and innovation of the organization. While the hotels are mostly depending on the worker they should apply the psychodynamic approach to make the work environment good to retain them. At the same time, the hotel also provides customization of room and order for the guest and some additional services. Moreover, some additional services include spa treatment, complimentary food and some others as well. Lastly, the hotels focus on decoration and reputation so they can attract tourists and guests.

Case Study: Glencoe House

Glencoe House is a Britain-based hotel located in the heart of Scotland known for its historical theme and view. Glencoe House is a historical mansion and former home of lord Strathcona. The hotel provides a rich experience to the guests with an amazing inner and outer view of Glencoe. Moreover, the hotel also provides extra services like a spa, dining, bar and some other as well (Welcome to Glencoe House, 2023). Nevertheless, location-wise the hotel is surrounded by greenery and drastic landscapes that attract tourists and guests. Further, the company provides quality services like personalization options that poetize the guest's preference with reasonable prices as well. Glencoe House has a good reputation in Scotland because of its rich history and customer reviews as well. The hotel focuses on the customer needs and demands which also help them to retain the customer. Moreover, with the word-of-mouth marketing strategy they can attract new customers at the same time.

Key characteristics

• Rich history: Glencoe House has a significant history it is a mansion and the former owner of the house was also lord Strathcona which makes the hotel more special.
• Sustainable: many hotels have made efforts toward sustainability and environmental safety (Kim, Barber and Kim, 2019). So the hotel also has goals to achieve sustainable goals for the environment.

Challenges

• Maintaining the property: The hotel has to maintain the property because of its historical value. Moreover maintaining a historical place is costly and at the same time risky as well.
• Travel agents: At the time of planning travelling people prefer travel agents so they don't have to face any kind of problem on the journey (Boto-García, et. al, 2021). Moreover, the travel agent suggests hotel that are budget-friendly.

Opportunities

• Digitalization: The growing trend of digitalization in the market has provided hotels to change the environment to keep up with the industry.
• Marketing: The hotel can use different marketing strategies to increase the brand reputation and gain a position in the market. At the same time, the hotels can use digital marketing as well.

Suitability of the Psychodynamic Approach

The psychodynamic approach is not a very common practice among leaders to make leadership skills effective. Moreover, in recent times many companies have focused on the behavioural challenges and mental health of the worker. This approach helps them to understand the worker more effectively but the approach has some strengths and weaknesses as well like:

Strength

Psychodynamic approach have various strengths according to the current situation of the organizations. Moreover because of various industry trend and changes the organizations have to adopt new method and concepts to keep up with the changes as well. Nevertheless many employees have various issues to get familiar with the changes that result in low productivity. So the psychodynamic focus on the problem employee faces on the daily operation and try to solve it (Rothauser, 2021). At the same time the employee feel comfortable and get used to the changes that help the company to lead the goals more easily. This approach also help the leader to focus on the team to enhance the individual performance while creating a positive work environment in the organization. At the same time if the leader understand the employees then they can distribute the work accordingly and provide training if necessary as well. Further all that initiative will result job satisfaction among the worker, the worker will have quality service and at last the financial condition of the company will improve.

Weakness

Even though the psychodynamic approach help the organization to adopt the changes more efficiently it have many weaknesses also. One of the weaknesses are that the approach is not scientifically proven so it is very risky for the company to apply in the organization. Moreover if the company apply the approach and does not show any kind of result than it will be time and cost-consuming as well (Raae, 2019). Nevertheless, the approach does not provide any specific solution for the issues facing by the employees because individuals have different kind of problems. Further, the approach focus on mainly the past issues rather than the current one that take more time for the employees to shoe results accordingly.

Impact on Organisational Performance

Organisational performance is affect due to change in the internal and external environment of the company. Moreover the Psychodynamic approach has a direct impact on the internal enviormal mainly on the worker, guest and finance like:

• Employee job satisfaction: The psychodynamic approach impact directly the employees and because of it job satisfaction also increases. One of the reasons is that this approach promotes open communication between workers and leaders. That results in solving issues that some employees may face due to various reasons. At the same time, the misunderstanding and miscommunication between the employees will be cleared which will create a positive work environment (Albino and Wisdom, 2020). Nevertheless with psychodynamic approach will also help the leader to understand the employee needs and requirements that will provide them with growth opportunities. Further, those factors will result in increased job satisfaction among the workers.
• Guest experience: The psychodynamic approach helps the employee to have effective communication skills. Moreover, effective communication is essential while interacting and solving the quires of the guest. At the same time with good personality traits and communication, the conflicts and problems of the worker will be solved easily. Nevertheless, open communication also encourages the employees to come up with innovative ideas and creativity to enhance the guest experience in the hotel (Lawlor and Sher, 2023). Moreover implementing some creative ideas in the hotel help the organization to stand in the industry even in the intense competition. At the same time offering something new can also attract new customers and retain the existing ones as well.
• Financial performance: With the improved productivity of the employee the work performance of the organization will also increase. At the same time as the guest experience will enhance that will also increase the customer loyalty and eventually have a significant growth in profitability (Esteves and Moreira, 2021.). Nevertheless providing quality service to the guest will make a positive brand image in the market. Moreover a strong and positive brand image will attract more customers. Further if the worker are satisfied with the job then it also save the cost and time of the hotel at the same time.

Potential Warning Signs of Employee and Organisational Distress

Some noticeable behaviour of the employee can be potential warning signs that can affect the company overall performance. Some of them are like:

• Overstressed: Overstress in a work environment is very common issue many organizations are facing right now. Moreover many time the employee have too much work pressure that make them over stress. Overstressing also affect the productivity of the employees in the company which will eventually affect the daily operation as well.
• Depression: The current work environment have become very hectic and stressful for the employees to work in. Moreover the hectic work schedule have made impossible for the employees to balance the personal and professional life together (Warning signs to look out for stress in employees, 2023). Nevertheless this result in depression and sometime them even resign from the job. Other than work there can be various for the depression like family issue, financial instability and etc. Nevertheless the company should be aware that factor and help the worker according to the situation.
• Antisocial: Sometime people have hard time in interacting with other and might feel uncomfortable as well. Moreover these people can feel left out in the work environment that will eventually affect the performance of the individual. Nevertheless with the lack of communication between the employees will create issues at the time of team work. At the same time it can also result in emotional distress in the individual.
• Irresponsible: Being responsible is very essential for the employees in the work place so the trust between the management and worker can increase. Moreover irresponsibility can cause various issues in the company. At the same time making mistake are very common so nothing is wrong while admitting the mistakes and work toward the improvement. Further the irresponsibility can cause misunderstanding and conflicts as well.
• Less productivity: Less productivity can be caused because of various reasons like emotional metal distress as well. The less productivity affect the organization daily operation and activity (7 Warning Signs of an Unhappy Employee, 2023). Moreover the less productivity can lead to the missing out the error and not work with proficiency.
• Biased behaviour: Biased behaviour is favouring some worker in the company on the basis of gender, skin colour, religion or any other reason. The biased behaviour toward the employees can result in demotivation and affect the productivity at the same time.

Alternative Leadership Approaches

The psychodynamic approach has many benefits but at the same time it also has many disadvantages as well. So there are some alternative leadership approaches that can be also suitable for the company some of them are like:

Transformational leadership

Transformational leadership approach help the leader to make future goals for the organization to achieve. Moreover this leadership approach can be very effective for the hotels to make changes in the internal environment. As the world is becoming for digitalized and technologically innovative so the industry trends. Nevertheless many companies are adopting the transformational leadership to cope with the changes without affecting the internal factor much (Asbari, 2020). The transformational leadership approach focus on inspiring and motivating the employees during the phase of change. This leadership approach make the leader personality and communication much effective to influence the worker and achieve the vision and mission of the company.

Democratic leadership

Democratic leadership provide an opportunity to the employee to participate in the decision making process. This leadership approach makes the employees responsible at the same time independent. In the democratic leadership the leader tend to take feedback and suggestions from the workers before making any decision (Hilton, Arkorful and Martins, 2021). Moreover this approach encourages open communication and coordination so the employees can suggest creative and innovative ideas. Nevertheless, independence make the employees responsible so they can come with unique ideas for the problems. Moreover, for an independent hotel boutique, this is the best approach to make the leadership more effective.

Participative leadership approach

The participative approach also known as managerial leadership believes in rewards and punishment to achieve a common goal of the organization. This approach helps the company to improve the work performance of employees to develop and grow as well. Moreover, leaders in this approach encourage the employees to be productive by rewards (Wang, Hou and Li, 2022). Nevertheless, the workers tend to follow the instructions carefully to avoid any kind of punishment.

Recommendations

• Glencoe House restaurant is a historical place that needs proper management of the property. So the company should take proper measures like renovating the property without avoiding any damages and take safety measures as well.
• To keep up with the industry trend of digitalization and technological innovation the hotel also should adopt the changes. Some changes can be like providing the guest with online transactions, booking and another AI-based facility as well.
• Moreover the hotel can also improve the guest experience by encouraging them to be participative in the decision-making to increase creativity and innovation. Nevertheless, the company needs innovation to gain a position in the market in the intense competitive environment.
• At the same time the company should also focus on the mental health of the employees as well. Moreover, nowadays mental health is as important as physical health. Nevertheless, the productivity of the employee and the retention rate will increase as well.
• Nevertheless the company should apply a good leadership approach to provide an independent internal environment to the worker. Providing an independent environment will result in job satisfaction and financial growth for the company as well.

Conclusion

The assessment was based on an independent boutique hotel d Glencoe House Restaurant a UK-based organization. Moreover, the psychodynamic approach of leadership and its relevance in the hotel have been described. Nevertheless, an overview of the hotel has been given that includes key characteristics, challenges and opportunities of the organization. At the same time, it evaluated the sustainability of the psychodynamic approach and the strengths and weaknesses of the approach in hotels are described. Further, the potential impacts of adopting the approach on organizational performance are highlighted. Moreover, some indicator of distress that management should be aware of is identified like biased behaviour, irresponsibility and others. Lastly, some alternative leadership approaches suitable for the hotel are explained like transformational and others with some recommendations as well.

References

Books and Journals

Albino, J. and Wisdom, J.P., 2020. Introduction to the Psychologist-Manager Journal Special Issue on Women Psychologists in Management and Leadership.The Psychologist-Manager Journal,23(3-4), p.135.

Alrawadieh, Z., Alrawadieh, Z. and Cetin, G., 2021. Digital transformation and revenue management: Evidence from the hotel industry.Tourism Economics,27(2), pp.328-345.

Asbari, M., 2020. Is transformational leadership suitable for future organizational needs?.International Journal of Social, Policy and Law,1(1), pp.51-55.

Boto-García, D., Zapico, E., Escalonilla, M. and Pino, J.F.B., 2021. Tourists’ preferences for hotel booking.International Journal of Hospitality Management,92, p.102726.

Esteves, A.M. and Moreira, S., 2021. Developing social performance professionals in the extractive industries.The Extractive Industries and Society,8(4), p.100964.

Hilton, S.K., Arkorful, H. and Martins, A., 2021. Democratic leadership and organizational performance: the moderating effect of contingent reward.Management Research Review,44(7), pp.1042-1058.

Kim, Y.H., Barber, N. and Kim, D.K., 2019. Sustainability research in the hotel industry: Past, present, and future.Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management,28(5), pp.576-620.

Lawlor, D. and Sher, M., 2023.Systems Psychodynamics: Innovative Approaches to Change, Whole Systems and Complexity. Taylor & Francis.

Petriglieri, G. and Petriglieri, J.L., 2020. The return of the oppressed: A systems psychodynamic approach to organization studies.Academy of Management Annals,14(1), pp.411-449.

Raae, P.H., 2019. Effective Leadership?: A Case Study in Work Psychodynamics. InThe Societal Unconscious(pp. 151-164). Brill.

Rothauser, D., 2021. Group supervision with executive coaches: A psychodynamic approach. InCoaching Supervision Groups(pp. 18-30). Routledge.

Wang, Q., Hou, H. and Li, Z., 2022. Participative leadership: a literature review and prospects for future research.Frontiers in psychology,13, p.924357.

Online

7 Warning Signs of an Unhappy Employee. 2023. Online. Available through: < https://technologyadvice.com/blog/human-resources/signs-employees-unhappy/>

Warning signs to look out for stress in employees. 2023. Online. Available through: < https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-insight/public-health/warning-signs-to-look-out-for-stress-in-employees-101697103220943.html>

Welcome to Glencoe House. 2023. Online. Available through: < https://glencoe-house.com/>