Create Indelible Human Experiences: Interview with Antonia Hock, Global Head of The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center
I recently went one on one with Antonia Hock. Anotnia is the global head of The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Antonia: I came to terms early in my career that I was by nature driven towards chaos, turnarounds, new ideas, start-ups — anything that was a “build” vs. a stable, run-rate business that needed only incremental improvement to thrive. When I came out of college, I joined an early-stage dot com and that fed my desire to build and create. It also allowed me to tap into my entrepreneurial spirit while simultaneously allowing me to experience the heavy lifting and long hours required to build a business.
I also love working with big brands that have resources and an appetite for being market-makers through innovation and calculated risk. This led me to work for fast-moving progressive companies like Microsoft, HP, and Siemens where I earned a reputation as a maverick: the one you call when you have a big challenge with high stakes attached. I also learned some important lessons about the value of culture, wellness, and genuine care in the workplace. Those are underserved areas that can break a business apart and destroy even the best financial performances.
After years of building successful business units centered on transformative technology, I was presented with the opportunity to work for The-Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center — but with the new twist of taking that legendary service, culture, and wellness focus to market as a methodology that can be implemented in Fortune 500 companies to drive business results. Much of what we do focuses on changing the lives of employees and customers with a strong focus on care, empowerment, and a personalized approach to connection.
Adam: What are the best leadership lessons you learned from serving in an executive role in the hospitality industry during the pandemic?
Antonia: While we deliver services based on the best practices of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, our business, The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, is focused on consulting and advisory work that changes the way companies look at the Talent Experience and the Customer Experience. Honestly, the pandemic turbocharged our business in the best way. It’s been refreshing to see so many companies rethinking their talent experiences, culture, and customer engagement strategies. The pandemic put so many important areas of this into sharp focus. There were so many important lessons from the pandemic, but my favorite two are:
Make business resiliency a fundamental business principle: Too many companies were not ready to pivot and adjust to a sustained crisis. They planned only for best case or at worst slight market turbulence. I lived through the dot com bust, and I watched lives destroyed by irresponsible business practices. From those days forward, I build every business with an eye towards how to rapidly scale up or down, change a model, or reduce operating expenses on a dime to preserve jobs and rapidly take advantage of market changes.
Hire talent that you admire and empower them to act: When the pandemic hit, our business had to change like any other, I believe in hiring talent with qualities that you cannot teach—like tenacity, positive attitude, and intellectual horsepower. We pulled together and everyone brought their best ideas, energy, and execution to pivot our business. We created so many fabulous innovations during this time, and they were all driven – not by me – but by the outrageous talent in our business.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Antonia: Great leaders are servants. They work in the service of others—whether employees, customers, or shareholders. If you seek glory, fame, or applause as an individual, you will, at some point, compromise your leadership for your own gain. We all know that leaders must make tough decisions and balance priorities, but the best long-term leaders, understand that people are at the heart of everything, and if you disappoint or compromise here, your business results will ultimately suffer. A servant mindset will pull through a host of other important leadership traits. I would also say that great leaders are authentic and visionary with a strong bias for execution. Showing your authentic self allows other to connect to you, and also to be themselves. The best work happens when people are empowered to integrate who they are with their work. I also believe that vision paired with execution is an unbeatable pairing as long as the vision is shared and vetted with others in the company.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Antonia: Every leader has blind spots, so taking your skills to the next level starts with self-awareness and self-reflection. I also firmly believe in looking at this through a competency model which gives leaders a stronger language to categorize and describe their talent and opportunities. Once you have that in place, the next step is to seek development opportunities for key skills you want to grow. That might be a stretch project, a mentor/coach, a workshop, or even a set of frank conversations with trusted colleagues or employees that are focused on how you could show up differently in certain areas. As long as you reflect and pair that with an action plan, you are on the road. Different strategies work for different leaders, so stay open-minded to what might work for you.
Adam: How can leaders build customer-centric organizations? What are your best tips on the topics of customer-centricity and customer service?
Antonia: First, customer-centricity fundamentally starts with employee-centricity. If you do not have a world-class inclusive, empowering, and purpose-driven culture that lives those values, you will never be successful with a customer-centric approach. Employees treat customers the way that they are treated—no matter what you “tell” them to do. Start with your internal culture and marry that to your external culture. Once you have done that, think about how to focus on 2-3 clear areas where you are differentiated from your competition, and blow those out. I believe that this is fundamentally about wow moments and personalized service. When you pair those strategies with your own differentiated qualities and you get the entire organization maniacally focused on those strategies, you are on the way!
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Antonia: I have three core principles that I advise businesses of all sizes to implement:
Invest in Passionate Advocates: No matter what channel you choose, a brand without passionate advocates will fail to connect. Invest in building a great culture first where passion and commitment are cultivated and supported. That will translate directly to customer engagement. Chick-fil-a is a great example of a brand that has passionate advocates driving brand success every day. I recently had a customer tell me that she pulled up to a store in the pouring rain, and she was waiting for the storm to subside to come inside to eat. A Chick-fil-a employee noticed and came out with an umbrella to escort her into the restaurant. She could not stop smiling, raving, and posting all over social media about her experiences. In her own words, she is now a “Chick-fil-a customer for life!”! This underscores that the way a consumer experiences a brand will drive loyalty and, in turn, results.
Be Specific and Disciplined about your Identity: Consumers want to connect with brands that have a specific identity that speaks directly to them. As a brand you cannot be generic, appeal to all, and be successful. Take a stand and have a focused, disciplined identity that appeals to the specific demographics you target. Peloton has done an exceptional job of focusing on consumers that are passionate about fitness, but crave a connected, yet private, community experience. They have built a platform that supports and engages this specific demographic, and their reward has been huge year over year growth and an enviable social media following of passionate consumers.
Create Indelible Human Experiences: In a world of constant stimulation and options, the strongest brands are creating authentic connections that support meaningful memorable moments. As a consumer, if I share some important information with you, and you fail to turn it into a “moment”, you devalue your brand and you devalue consumer trust. A brand that gets this right is The Ritz-Carlton. If you share your birthday or anniversary, special moment, tiny detail of your stay, or simply give us an opportunity, we will find a way to turn that into a “brand-defining moment”. When I joined the brand 5 years ago, I checked into The Ritz-Carlton in Dallas from a long day of difficult meetings, a rain-soaked flight delay, and a quick turnaround in morning. I was on my last few squeezes of toothpaste—just enough to get through the night and the morning. When I returned to my room late that next day, I had a full new tube of toothpaste on my sink. I did not ask for that toothpaste. It was given openly by another human who saw my need. I was “wowed” by the housekeeper’s thoughtfulness. Years later, I still love to tell that story.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Antonia: When it comes to leading teams, the best approach is to think about your own behavior first. I recommend that leaders start by implementing these four tactics in meetings, 1:1s, and customer interactions:
Control your own mindset first. This means before you get ready to communicate, you are focused on the conversation in front of you. You are controlling your thoughts and actively setting aside those that do not pertain to the current topic. You are also in a positive mindset and determined to get the most positive outcome out of a meeting or conversation.
Focus. Put down your phone, shut your laptop, and make eye contact. Ensure that your body language is open, your posture is solid, and that you are signaling that this conversation is important to you.
Listen with intent to understand and ask probative questions to get to the root of any meaning, challenges, or ideas. Provide guidance in the form of relatable previous experiences whenever possible.
Find something good to say in every situation—even if it’s small. Or lead with an empathy statement. Assume positive intent until you confirm otherwise. Don’t underestimate the power of hope, sincerity, and a can-do outlook.
Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing and branding?
Antonia: Brand marketing is all about building your identity, what you stand for, and who you are across your enterprise. Your identity connects your brand to your consumer, and the deeper the connection, the more binding the relationship will be. Product marketing, in contrast, is focused on driving transactions for specific products or driving sales for a category of items. I fundamentally believe that consumers today buy brands, not just products. If you are not invested in having a clear brand identity that is expressed across every touch, you will not ultimately be successful. Too few companies are investing in building their brand identity, and they struggle to understand why their products aren’t “sticky”. In the luxury segment, consumers are loyal to brands, not to products.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Antonia: Be disciplined about what you undertake and trust your own experiences to guide you. Surround yourself with diverse ideas and people that inspire you! It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sensory overload today, so take the time to be inspired by brands and people that inspire YOU. We are surrounded every day by people who are pushing the envelope and trying fascinating new strategies. Let that inspire your next move and be fearless.
Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Antonia: I’d love to see more leaders establish credibility on the back of accomplishments and not on the back of authority. Leaders need to demonstrate functional competency, empathy, and commitment to the wellbeing of the team. It is important to establish your leadership authority, but I see leaders often try to do that by telling people what to do vs. thinking about empowering, teaching, and coaching. The best time to reflect and start living this model as a leader is right now.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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