The parallel one can draw for the General Manager of a Hotel is like the Captain of a Ship. This is especially true about Kanika Hasrat, General Manager, Taj City Centre Gurugram who lives and pilots daily with a different set of loads, charters and deliverables.

Be it a Captain of a Ship or the General Manager of a Hotel, one has to lead by example. There is a constant need to be agile and aware of the navigation plan, to handle emergencies, to motivate and empower one's crew and to ensure that the boat stays on course, always.

A GM’s role being diverse and versatile makes each day different from the previous one. Like any Team leader, a hotel’s true success is also measured by how successfully the team builds and delivers its strategy whilst delighting guests, engaging associates and achieving financial results.

The legacy of care at the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and our core values of Trust, Awareness and Joy (TAJ) inspire us to build relationships with all our stakeholders, including our guests, and these values go beyond the walls of our hotels. As leaders, we set examples for our team to follow. If we hand-hold them and empower them, it leads to joy. The devil is, indeed, in the details, so I ask relevant questions, challenge my team to know more about their guests and their world to deliver personalised experiences.

I believe I balance the process and the people to develop and empower my team. I communicate a lot – whether it is sharing concerns, querying about focus areas, or motivating the team. My challenge and aim is to build synergy and common focus. I'm an approachable leader who is easy to connect with but I'm also someone who expects teams to be held accountable for results. My role as a leader is to balance the different aspects of the business so that all teams achieve their results cohesively. I openly give feedback and without any grudge, for I believe it’s the act that needs to be condemned, not the person. I have had success in developing talent because of this belief. But above all, I have fun at work.

My eye for detail and passion to learn push me to be a better hotelier every day. I love the opportunities my job brings me, of meeting people from all walks of life, of innovating and of building experiences that the world treasures. Thanks to my multi-faceted experience of working across varied brands, I have honed my skills in various roles. Having worked as a GM for over 10 years now, I hope to grow into a larger role to manage multiple hotels, enhance results for my organisation, and take on additional responsibilities to develop further.

Of course, one cannot progress without mentors. I too got the opportunity to work with many industry leaders who have not only been an inspiration but helped me harness my strengths and develop into a better leader and human being.

IMPACTFUL INITIATIVES

From building the brand statement to its planning and execution, I was part of IHCL’s initiative to take our legacy of food and dining beyond our hotel walls. The key initiative offered local and global cuisines from our iconic restaurants at people's doorsteps or a venue of their choice, complemented with the legendary Taj service.

In line with the Tata legacy of giving back to society, I represented IHCL as part of the Global Action on Poverty, which paved the way for my association with Labhya Foundation - an NGO that enables children from low socio-economic backgrounds to improve their quality of life. I also initiated Guruskool, a supervisory development programme for the evolvement and growth of our employees.

Remaining committed to achieving environmental and social sustainability, we have set ourselves a target of creating sustainable and responsible hotels that give back to society in some way. At Taj City Centre, we began eliminating single-use plastic water-bottles from restaurants and guest rooms, to becoming IHCL’s first hotel to install a Bio-Scale Remover for chemical-free treatment of water, reducing energy consumption by implementing a monthly Earth Hour, etc.

When it comes to dining, the customer of tomorrow prefers small plates, coupled with healthier, sustainable food options. Many of our restaurants across IHCL have embraced superfoods and local produce and introduced wellness-oriented options such as gluten-free, multi-grain bread and sugar-free delights. The current trend in wellness has cascaded down to our Jiva Spas as well.

THE PROFESSIONAL COMES FIRST, THE WOMAN LATER

I've never thought of myself as a “woman” on the job, rather as a GM who is a woman. On the job, what counts is delivering results. Hospitality is an industry where building an emotional connect with our guests is the key to success. Women have always had strong emotional intelligence and tend to multitask more effectively. So my message to all ladies in hospitality is: Believe in yourself, follow your passion, think big and dream to lead! At IHCL, we work pro-actively to encourage women to join the industry and grow with it.

Being a woman myself, I am committed to encouraging the growth of women in senior leadership roles. The idea is to have women in roles that inspire others and keep the tribe growing. We recently organised the #IHCLOneforOne Women’s Summit at the Taj City Centre Gurugram, to bring lady associates from across the various departments of our Delhi-NCR hotels under one roof - to share their success stories, professional journeys and challenges. The idea was to build a culture of aspiration and create synergy to stand one-for-one to help each other grow.

Managing this task whilst trying to spend quality time with one's family does have its challenges but if one's family is supportive and shoulders equal responsibility, nothing is impossible.

This article was published in BW hotelier issue dated '' with cover story titled 'BW HOTELIER THE WOMEN SPECIAL ISSUE VOL 6, ISSUE 2'