Human-Centred Leadership in Hospitality: Why Emotional Intelligence Drives Real Results
In an industry built on human connection, leadership in hospitality is undergoing a profound shift. As automation, AI, and operational pressures increase, the true differentiator is no longer just efficiency; it’s emotional intelligence, culture, and the ability to lead through change. Dinka Krčelić is a business trainer and executive coach. Her approach blends strategic clarity with a deep understanding of the human dynamics that drive performance.
In this article, Dinka reflects on the changing face of leadership in hospitality — from the underestimated role of soft skills to the common blind spots in managing transformation. With candid insights on collaboration, coaching-based leadership, and the rising importance of emotional intelligence, they challenge hotel leaders to reframe how they view people, culture, and the very definition of success in a digitally disrupted world.
In an industry that often prioritizes operational efficiency, how can hospitality leaders begin to truly integrate soft skills development into their leadership strategy?
In hospitality, where success depends on people serving people, soft skills like empathy, communication, and adaptability are not “nice-to-haves” — they are essential revenue drivers. Leaders must embed these skills into daily practices, performance development, and cross-department collaboration to create agile, guest-focused teams that directly contribute to business growth. Operational excellence and soft skills are not in conflict — they’re both crucial for sustained success.
So today, we really want to see managers who are genuine leaders, who communicate with their staff on a daily basis, build trust and team culture throughout their organisations. They go beyond KPIs and are fully aware that people, their motivation, enthusiasm, the entire organisational culture of collaboration and effective communication will bring business results.
Many hotels struggle with change fatigue. What are the most common leadership blind spots you see when it comes to managing transformation in fast-paced environments?
There are different blind spots when talking about leadership in general, but also when managing transformations. What I see as one of the biggest blind spots when managing transformation, is to underestimate the human dimension of a change.
Managers often neglect the positive impact of involving employees early in the change process. Top-down decisions tend to generate more resistance, while a bottom-up approach — where staff are actively engaged from the start — leads to greater ownership and faster acceptance of change.
Change brings uncertainty. Leaders may focus on systems, KPIs, or tools, but forget that change also brings fear of failure, role ambiguity, or burnout — all of which sabotage execution if not addressed.
Not everyone reacts to the change in the same way. Some people simply need more time to embrace change, so leaders need to be patient.
Collaboration sounds good on paper, but what does it actually take to build a culture of trust and accountability across departments in hospitality?
Communication is always the key – it is especially vital in the situations of transformations, when teams undergo storming caused by change of their respective roles, lack of certainty, fear of failure etc. Communication has to be intensive, in all directions: not only top-down, but also across departments, and it has to be sincere. The goal has to be to build trust and positive transformation atmosphere where it is ok to feel unsecure, where some will need more time to accept the change, and those who are fast will be patient with the others.
Real collaboration requires common actions and leadership presence. Departments must agree on shared goals, so that all are rowing in the same direction, and not competing for attention or resources. Teams must understand their respective roles and interdependencies and how their work impacts others. Leaders should model transparency, mutual respect and even vulnerability, asking for and receiving feedback, celebrating team wins and trust grows.
What would you say to a hotel GM who believes emotional intelligence and coaching-based leadership are “nice-to-haves,” not business-critical skills?
Emotional intelligence helps us deal with our own emotions and with emotions of the people around us: becoming aware of them and managing emotions as well as using the emotions to get to the results. I would say to a hotel GM that in the hospitality business, which is based on relationships, emotional intelligence is the foundation of strong relationships and is in fact one of the core competencies, not only „nice-to-have“.
Emotional intelligence helps GMs to cope with their own fears, resistance or motivation and build resilience. It also helps in leading co-workers, understanding them better and motivating them to contribute to the mission of the hotel.
Coaching-based leadership can do a lot in empowering and motivating team members. By leading through coaching rather than by directive leadership, it is likely that team members will feel more engaged, responsible and ready to take initiative. Turnover will be reduced, burnout prevented and people will take ownership and perform at their best.
So, in fact emotional intelligence and coaching-based leadership are indeed business-critical skills rather than only nice to have…
With so much talk about AI, automation, and digital disruption — how do you see the human side of leadership evolving, and what role will it play in navigating the next big wave of change?
It is remarkable how fast the technology develops and what impact it has on business, but also on everyday life. In hospitality I would think that the human side of leadership becomes more, not less important. Technology and AI can optimize pricing, automate check-in, and analyze data faster than any person. But can they inspire, coach, empathize, or build belonging in organisations? Not really.
I think that the roles of the leaders will in the future evolve very much in providing emotional safety while balancing it with digital progress. People are already feeling insecure about the future of their jobs, so the leaders need to help them feel reassured, develop the necessary skills and connect. In times that are volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous people need leaders who provide clarity, values and purpose, who are able to translate uncertainty into opportunities.
Machines can handle routine, but people are needed to handle exceptions, surprises and innovation. Leaders are expected to create adaptive and learning cultures with teams that are curious, resilient and emotionally intelligent. Those qualities cannot be produced by technology.