Susanne Welle, Director of the École Hôtelière de Genève
With over 20 years' experience in the hotel industry and training, Susanne Welle, Director of the École Hôtelière de Genève, is renowned for her inclusive and egalitarian approach to leadership. She embodies excellence and innovation, values she draws from both her Norwegian roots and her Swiss background, and which fuel her ongoing passion for her profession. In this interview, she challenges preconceived ideas about leadership and offers fresh perspectives on how to succeed as a team.
Which step of your career would you chose as a turning point that has defined the leader you are today, and why?
I think it was during my role as Hotel Manager. I was very young, just 26, and suddenly in charge of a hotel in the middle of nowhere (in the Norwegian mountains). I was faced with a lot of stress, as I had to do a lot of work on site/in person. I learned that I couldn't do everything on my own, and that it was good to delegate. I learned a lot during that time, and I learned from my mistakes too. It was fun and scary. These new responsibilities and this experience are the reasons why I think this experience is the key point that led me to be the leader I am today.
It is more and more common to see women in leader positions in various fields: what changes do you see in leadership thanks to that?
I think we see more collaborative leadership. Many women talk through problems, and the solutions comes as we talk about the issues. I think the decision-making process is different. I also think that there will be more diverse teams, which is good, as we might find solutions that works for more persons. Some people think we will have a more environment friendly policies, but I’m not sure about that.
You are well-known for your egalitarian leadership, where all have a voice: what are your tips to succeed?
I think it’s important to encourage discussions and participation. I also believe that in some very homogeneous cultures, it might be important to have quotations or at least clear written objectives, on how to achieve more diversity. It’s common that many persons hire persons who they identify with, and this can hinder the business in becoming more egalitarian. I also think as a leader that it’s important to share these objectives with your team. An example of this was an IT company in Norway who started to do their staff selection using AI, and suddenly they started to hire much more woman, even though it was “a known fact” that it was difficult to find women in IT. Perhaps it was the recruiters who were subjective or ruling out women too early in the recruitment process.
Could you tell me more about how you implement this egalitarian leadership?
I try to have a diverse team of people around me, even if it means a more complicated direction, because if everybody agrees on a team, or if you are only surrounded by like-minded people, you might meet your goals more quickly, but you will miss out on different opinions and ideas that might be better in the end. As an example, I cope with “opposition” by pushing forward minorities that I observe in my teams. This might be based on gender, ethnicity or origins, but is always done in a way that promotes diversity and a positive forward motion in a team. I for example have witnessed that our kitchens are predominantly directed by male chefs, and as a team, we try to hire more female chefs. Hiring, however, is not simply dictated by diversity. The skills required are thoroughly analyzed. This might seem as more complicated, and it does ask for more time in the beginning. In the short-term, discussions will need to happen and although not everyone agrees, we need to recognize others’ ideas and not let our ego get in the way. While we might want to push forward our own ideas, we cannot miss out on better ones. This has allowed me to cultivate a reputation of discussion and dynamic leadership that is recognized and brings on more discussion and improvement in my team.
What are the characteristics and qualities of the leaders of tomorrow?
I think the leaders of tomorrow are made up by doers! To be smart doesn’t help if you don’t manage to transform your ideas into action, and with AI the needs will change a lot.
