How to Unlock Potential Through Leadership in Hospitality - Dr. Matthew Ohlson, University of North Florida

Josiah: Leadership is the cornerstone of success, but what does it really take to excel? Today, we're diving deep into this crucial topic with an expert who's shaping the leaders of tomorrow. One of the things I love about learning with you here from the Hospitality Daily community is how one thing leads to another, and we keep getting incredible opportunities to learn together. You may remember a few weeks back, Greg Cook, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, and I recorded a conversation all about leadership. There's a link in the show notes in case you missed it, but through that, I connected with our guest today, Dr. Matt Ohlson, professor at the University of North Florida and director of the Taylor Leadership Institute. In this episode, you'll get a masterclass in leadership, why it matters today, and how to empower others, including some specific ways Dr. Olson teaches his students that reveal some best practices that are transferable into almost any context. Stay tuned to learn what it takes to grow and thrive as a leader in hospitality today. 

Josiah: I would love for listeners to get to know you a little bit. So I wonder if we could spend just a few moments talking about yourself and what you're doing. And I think we're gonna have a really interesting conversation today.

Matthew: Josiah, I'm really excited for this opportunity. So my name is Dr. Matt Ohlson, and I tell everyone I have the best job in the world. I get to teach and preach and really celebrate leaders on a college campus here at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville as part of the Taylor Leadership Institute. I even have the background here. It's a beautiful prop for this conversation. We even brought in a fake plant for it. It's perfect. So one of the things that I get to do, not have to do, I get to work with students, community leaders, business leaders, athletes, Olympic athletes, pro athletes all over the world, really helping them to see their own greatness, see their own potential. And for me, leadership isn't a position or title. It's influence. And if I can allow people to see their strengths, their powers, their talents as leaders, it really transforms who they are. And it has them move away from, you know, one day I'll be a leader or one day I'll, I'll make a difference. And one day I'll be, We can talk about the power of happiness. One day I'll be happy when I reach those things. And I want my students - the people I work with -  and the people I coach to see right now you can make a difference. Right now you can be a leader. Right now you can be the change you hope to see in the world. And I think that's where, you know, that's why when I say I have the best job in the world, it's like a doctor that cures every patient. Every person who sees their own leadership potential and their greatness is better because of it. And it's so much, it's so fun.

Josiah: Well, thanks for defining that. That is empowering. I think for everyone listening, this will be something that gets them to think that there is potential here for themselves. I wonder, from an organizational level as well, why leadership matters. Maybe for some of the leaders listening, maybe they're bought in, maybe they're living this way, but why should they be thinking about empowering the leadership potential within the people on their teams?

Matthew: I think that the key for that, for the leaders listening, it really comes down to when you are leading people and not just managing them. Managing is really comes down to, it really drains you, when you have a position of leadership and you are managing people and it's constantly monitoring, observing, trying to, to really maintain Where if the, the, if we switch that mindset to say, how can I empower leaders within my team? It really allows you as a leader to thrive, but also allows people to find their strengths and talents and allows them to shine. And the leaders that I've worked with, that I've coached with some of the largest organizations in the country, you know, billion-dollar Fortune 500 companies. And I see these leaders getting drained, and their hair's going gray, and they're, you know, the "thank God it's Friday" type mindset. And I'm like, no, let's change that. Let's go find, let's go work with your team to help them find their gifts and talents. And two or three months in, they're saying this is amazing because I'm not trying to catch people not doing the right thing. I'm allowing the people with their gifts and talents to shine, and it's changing their whole mindset. They're not playing the gotcha moment. They're celebrating the gifts and talents. They're celebrating the strengths of the people that they hired. They hired them. They didn't get into the company by luck or chance. They didn't get lost and ended up on your payroll. You hired them, so why not find their greatness? Why not allow them to shine? Then as a leader, you get to sit back and say, oh my goodness, look at what we've done here. Let me tell you about Josiah and his amazing you know, podcasts that he creates. Let me tell you about, you know, Greg Cook at The Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island, and then it comes back to you. If you're their leader and you're seeing them shine, who's it come back to? You're finding their greatness, but at the same time, it happens because of you. So it's a lot of fun when you switch that mindset.

Josiah: I imagine there's a lot of our listeners that are nodding along right now saying, hey, I feel a little bit too burnt out. I feel like we need to make some changes here to operate at the level that we should be, right? One of the things I love about this podcast is who it allows me to meet. I had the good fortune of meeting you through that conversation with Greg Cook, the general manager, as you mentioned, at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. What a fantastic leader. I learned so much from that conversation. And then you and I connected following that conversation, and you introduced me to something that you did and some of your work there. And I wonder if you could explain to our listeners how you thought about developing leadership within the context of what you do because you put together a pretty interesting program. Maybe describe what you put together, and then I want to get all into the details of how and why you created it.

Matthew: Okay, sure. It actually happened with one visit to The Ritz Carlton and Greg Cook, both of his daughters attended our university and we invited Greg, we invite dynamic leaders from the greater Jacksonville community to come and speak to our students. Sometimes they get bored of hearing me speak all the time. So we bring in those guest speakers to really liven it up and really bring the real world to our students. Greg was speaking about, you know, his story and the great work that he was doing. And he said, I'd love to have you bring some students up there. And we have been doing leadership work throughout the semester, learning about the Covey seven habits, learning about all these dynamic leadership programs. And we wanted to see what was happening at the Ritz Carlton. And all it took was one visit. And we watched what was happening there, not only in terms of what Greg was doing and his executive team, but every employee had this level of care and concern. The new definition of leadership is that you make people feel significant. That's leadership. And they made every person they came in contact with feel valued and significant. And we had seven students in that group. Many of them were on their way toward the end of their time here in college, ready for graduation. And all seven, as we were having this debriefing session at the end, they said, I would work here tomorrow. That light bulb went off for me. When you think about the skills that employers are looking for, they're looking for the ability to work on a team, time management, goal setting, and all these soft leadership skills that employers are looking for. We saw that day. And from that one experience from a hospitality mindset and hospitality experience, we revamped one of our most powerful programs where we said, okay, let's get our students out there and see this on a consistent, consistent basis. Let's have them move learning out of the classroom and away from just a textbook to see what, you know, is how do you use data to track performance? How do you celebrate success in the workplace? And how do you make every customer? I don't care if you're going to be a dentist, lawyer, business owner, or entrepreneur; great success in your career starts with great service to the clients that you're serving. And I think we learned, that's why we're doing this. And it's been one of the most, and I've been in education for gosh, 30 years, and I've never seen anything so impactful so quickly.

Josiah: Well, you put a lot of thought into the work that you do, but I just want to go back and recap some of the things that you've shared so far in our conversation already. We're just a few minutes into this, but you talked about how empowering leadership can be when you embrace this on a personal level. You talked about leadership in an organizational context, how this is unlocking the potential of your team. If you're facing burnout, you feel like you're not operating collectively as at the level you could be, leadership can unlock some of that. But I also heard something that caught my attention and you had someone say, I want to work there tomorrow. So everybody in hospitality is talking about attracting talented people into their organizations. If you're running your organization as an effective leader, that's going to be a talent magnet. And so there's just benefits across the board for this. I wonder, Matt, if you could speak a little bit more about the Leadership Excellence Apprentice Program because you put together some world-class organizations and inputs. You mentioned your work with Greg, but I wonder if you could speak a little bit more about the program and how you structured it because it seems like you have a lot of very talented elements here at play.

Matthew: Excellent. I love the focus on excellence in our students. And I tell my students all the time it's not bragging if it's true if you're doing some great things. And one of the things that I'm so proud of in this program is we brought in, when you think of excellence on a global scale, if we want to think about leadership, you think about some of those, those hallmark names. And the name for us, I've been working with the Franklin Covey group since 2008, seeing what they're doing with companies and schools. And we've been using those resources with the Olympic athletes I've worked with, our collegiate teams. And it's really been the hallmark of some of the more important certifications that our students are leaving with. And in this era, I know I'm a great teacher and I know I do great things in my class. But when our students can leave with the gravitas of a certification that's recognized in the corporate world, I'm putting my students in a situation to succeed. So our students go through the program, which allows them to leave with a certification. They take the exam. So they're adding that piece of their resume. One of the things that takes learning to the next level is saying, okay, we've learned it in class. We've learned it online. We know what it is, but I want to see it in person. I want to see it in the face of actual workers. And what does this look like in a team meeting? So after meeting with Greg Cook and the folks at, at The Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island, we found out that they were using some of the same Covey resources in their performance management system and their HR team tracking employee progress, celebrating employee success. So that light bulb went off after that visit. I said, okay, they're using the tools we're learning about. Now let's have our students go see it in action. And what's been so powerful, it's not just unicorns and rainbows going up and hanging out the Ritz for an afternoon. Isn't that wonderful? It is literally getting into the weeds, getting into the real heart of performance management and performance excellence for employees. And our students are mentored and paired with one of their executives. Our students we pick about 15 of our top students from all different backgrounds and different career choices. Some are, you know, it's, we don't have a hospitality program. It is folks in marketing, finance, criminal justice, you name it, communication, and sports management. And we're having our students paired up with executives at the Ritz Carlton, including Greg, including their HR team. And they not only shadow them during the day while they're up there. They're seeing them interact with customers. They're seeing them interact with executives and seeing how they're taking these leadership principles in terms of great customer service, in terms of empowering employees, and making employees feel significant. And then they're seeing it firsthand and saying, okay, now I see that connection. And what's so powerful is that our students are more confident, they're more capable, and they're getting the soft skills that aren't being taught in schools. They're going through an etiquette lunch, where they're understanding how to, you know, which fork to use when the salad comes and, you know, how not to order, you know, a rack of ribs and three bourbons for your first business lunch. So it's really powerful to know how to dress, how to carry yourself, and how to shake hands again now that COVID is over. So, shake hands, make eye contact, and call a person by their name. So, all these skills that employers are looking for are, you know, I'm talking to these HR teams in these major organizations. They're saying those business lunches matter. The first time meeting an HR team and how you carry yourself are so important. So we're giving them the skills that maybe aren't taught in a traditional class. And it's so powerful to see that transformation of our students because of it.

Josiah: So I want to ask two follow-up questions on that one, and oddly specific and then a little more general. The specific one is that I love the notion of shadowing. I just love how you're describing how immersive this experience is. Shadowing is amazing for folks who have never participated in kind of doing this well, either as somebody shadowing someone else or being shadowed. What guidance do you provide to both a person being shadowed and your students shadowing an executive?

Matthew: I asked them for a prompt at the very end. What did you see? What did you learn? Prompts around also action items. It's the so what now what mindset that I have for our students and my team. What's so powerful about this is not only our as this has emerged and the attention has been brought to this unique program. We now have business leaders from other companies joining us. We have other faculty members faculty members and leaders from the university coming and see this. So when it comes to that shadowing, we want them to have those action items. In these reflection sessions at the very end, we're asking them, making sure, what did you gain from this experience? And do something with it. Don't just say, oh my gosh, that was fantastic. And take, you know, selfies with your mentor. Go to that next level. How is it changing your daily routine? How is it changing your time management? I think I was really powerful when they, one of the first times they went to the management team meetings and they, one of our students who was a finance major, he said, Dr. Ohlson, I've been in internships, I've had experiences. And all they talked about was celebrating their staff and the data that backed it up. There was no sharing of information. There was no, hey, next Tuesday, we have to have this. It was literally, hey, Josiah, I love what you did with your team. Performance is up 18%; keep up the good work, Do any words you want to share to celebrate your team that helped to make it happen? And it was data, celebrations, and where do we go through next? And it was that our students came out of it saying, I've never been in a team meeting like that before, and I've worked with three different companies. So I think those pieces, seeing the shadowing, but also getting into the inner workings of what this actually looks like in the hospitality industry. And like I said, these are not hospitality majors and they came out of this with, okay, here's my action item. When I meet with my athletic team or my club here on campus, this is what our meeting is going to look like now.

Josiah: And that's fantastic, and I imagine many of our listeners are going to be excited that there were non-hospitality majors observing what excellence looks like in a hospitality context and setting the bar there. I'm curious, as you reflect. I guess on the program overall, there are so many components to it. What stood out to you as key things that you learned about what it takes to teach, train, and empower the next generation of leaders? What I'm hearing from you across this whole story is so many different elements to it. And maybe that's a piece of the puzzle here, but what are some of your top takeaways on what it takes?

Matthew: Serve. And especially with this theme around hospitality, in the post-COVID era, there has been such a lack of connection for many of the students and not only students employees, and teams that I work with. And I'm going to go back to Greg Cook and why Greg Cook. And I write books and nobody reads them, but I write a lot of books and articles and, you know, in a so-called expert in the field of leadership. I was absolutely blown away by spending one afternoon with Greg Cook, who I consider a mentor and friend. And I learned more in that one afternoon than maybe, you know, years in studying leadership. Simple things that I share with my students, as we're walking through the hotel of 800 employees, Greg walked by a housekeeper and mentioned her by name, and asked her how her vacation was. We went down past the gift shop. Then called an employee by name and asked how her son was doing in his first year of college and named the college. And as we're walking through the halls, our students are absolutely blown away. They're like 800 employees. He's not only remembering their names, he's showing care and intent and real love. And that's what that is. When you take the time to remember what an employee's kids are doing, And then as we're leaving the, you know, ending the tour, he saw something on the ground. He gets down and, like, actually scrapes something off the ground and picks it up himself where many people would have called four people, and people would have rushed to do it for him. And my students saw that and they're like, this is the general manager in charge of 800 people. And he knew people by name. He walked the walk of, you know, I'm going to do the little things right. How you do anything is how you do everything. And he's doing all those things. So for me, it comes down to serving and never stopping learning because no one, even a professor of leadership like me or a CEO or someone who, you know, is a motivational speaker on leadership, we're always learning because Leadership is not something that is finite. Leadership is changing. I mean, what we consider leadership now, you know, 10 years ago was completely different. So I think for me, serve and bring out the best in others. You know, I love Dr. Kaveh's quote, you know, leadership is communicating to people their worth and value so clearly that they see it in themselves. I think that changes the mindset of the position or title. It's who's better because of me. And then that, that final piece of never stop learning. And I love going to the Ritz, not only for the etiquette lunches with the great food, but also because I learn by watching, you know, their HR team. I learned by watching my students. So I think serving and learning at the same time is paramount for, you know, what great leadership is and can be, especially in this post-COVID era.

Josiah: Amazing. Where can people go to learn more about you and your work? You publish a lot. You are doing a lot. Where would you point people?

Matthew: Leadership at unf.edu is our email. If you do a search for us, leadership at the University of North Florida. And I, you know, when it comes to this, this partnership, and this idea, I challenge folks that are listening and watching to look at ways to empower those around you and replicate this. The great thing about this is that it doesn't cost any money. I, in this partnership, all it was, was an ask. So if you have people in the community doing great things, all you can do is ask and say, Hey, can we learn from you? Can we, you know, watch you for an afternoon, bring some of our students or bring some of our aspiring leaders or, you know, new employees can you know, watch what great things can happen when people see great leadership in action. Because anyone can read a book and listen to a podcast in isolation, but it really comes down to go do something with this. I'm on social media all over the place. I love celebrating our students and our partnerships. Every time we go up to the Ritz, I take pictures with Greg and his team, saying, look at what they're doing now. And it's always next level. So I think that's a challenge I have for everyone here is, is really take, you know, transform the idea of leadership and into who can influence today, who's better today because of your words and actions. And especially this, you know, this hospitality group that you're sharing this with, what you're doing is really something that should be the ingredients of what you do should be in everything, not just hospitality should be in business and healthcare, sports, you name it, education, You know, I'm bringing this back to how I teach my students, and it should be. You know, how is your stay here? How is your experience here in college? If it's not exceptional, I'm going to make sure it is. So I think that these hospitality themes could make everything better.