- What triggered your interest in the hospitality industry?
“My interest was triggered when I was 12 years old when I had a conversation with my cousin who was 19 then and had joined a catering college and was talking about how amazing his journey was going. This triggered an interest right away and I didn’t have to think much before choosing a career in the hospitality industry.”
- What are the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated segment? How did you tackle the same?
“I passionately believe in diversity and try my best every day to work towards how we can expand in this aspect. Marriott International drives this actively and I find myself aligned with the company’s biggest beliefs too. The biggest challenge for any leader is to keep inspiring and motivating the team every day. I believe that when it comes to leaders, gender becomes irrelevant, because no decision is made on basis of gender at work. It is about efficiency and impact. The world has opened up to not think in terms of gender in my opinion and rarely decisions are influenced by gender any more in metros and larger cities. Tier2 and 3 cities may have a very different story to tell where a lot of visibility campaigns and workshops to make the ladies stay at work to grow in their career has to happen.”
“I have been a believer upgrading oneself to adapt to changes in the environment and in the industry. This is one of the reasons I started with Front office moved to Food and Beverage service and then to Sales and Marketing to get an exposure in the all- round perspective in the hotel.”
Sita Lekshmi, General Manager of Aloft Bengaluru Outer Ring Road.
- From the time you joined the industry to now, what are the changes you’ve noticed towards the perception of women in the hospitality space?
“Over the last 17 years of my career in the industry, I have seen the number of women in leadership roles increasing at a large scale. The industry is definitely trying to grow the % of female workforce in it. Every brand has their own way of leading this at a Global, continent to country level. A larger % of hotel leaders (GMs) makes a genuine attempt to make the workforce stronger with ladies in it. Women’s contributions to the business have risen in recent years with more women entering leadership roles. Marriott being the largest international hotel brand presence in India is led by a lady, Ranju Alex. Women account for 46.4 percent of employment in Travel Tourism in the G20 compared to the 43.3% across the economy as a whole. This is a definite indicator that the women influence in the hotel industry is growing.”
- If you had to talk about some key highlights of your career, what would they be?
Few key highlights of my career definitely involve constantly trying to be an inspiring woman for the team to look up to. I have also been blessed with great mentors who have inspired me through my journey. I have been a believer upgrading oneself to adapt to changes in the environment and in the industry. This is one of the reasons I started with Front office moved to Food and Beverage service and then to Sales and Marketing to get an exposure in the all- round perspective in the hotel.”
- What, according to you, are the qualities needed for a successful General Manager? And what have been your success mantras so far?
“The three most important qualities of a GM as per me are having a long-term vision, taking ownership for the environment and empathy. A leader must be a visionary to be able visualize a growth plan for every team member. The more I invest time in my team, the more they grow and I grow, as a whole the entire system in the hotel is elevated. I believe that people if looked after well and rightly motivated will maintain your product, follow the process and build your profit. So having a long-term vision for the people is the first quality. Understanding that leading is a privilege and contributing to the team hands on is how one shows ownership.
Empathy is the last and most important quality of a leader. To lead means to understand and empathize. Brain storm together and allow everyone to lead from their own areas of influence and build a collective team together that functions on respect and trust.”
