The hotel business is among the most vibrant sectors in the economy. The area requires high levels of management skills especially due to the vastness of the scope with which one is dealing with customers and employees. The business is the only area whereby the perceptions of a customer matter to the extent that, when they are displeased, there is no way to rebrand the premises and have the customer come back. Unlike in the product market where products are repackaged and resold, the competitors in this business will pounce on any opportunity and drive their opponent out of the business completely. Dealing with employees can turn to be a difficult task as it might lead to the immediate collapse of a business as the employee’s attitudes and perceptions are directly reflected to the customers by the quality of the services offered. The position of a hotel manager necessitated strong leadership styles, which I had to develop within a very short period of time. In the Hotel business, I found the democratic/ participative leadership most effective and adopted it. The style worked well for me. In this essay, we shall examine the democratic leadership style in the light of my experience in the hotel business.

Democratic leadership is the most effective leadership in the hotel management business (Brown, 1938). It involves the leader allowing the members of the group to participate in the decision-making. The leader, however, takes the responsibility of making a decision. For this leadership, the workers in the hotel are allowed to give their views on better customer service methods as well as air their complaints on what the hotel management should improve on. The workers are allowed to address the manager directly and contribute their opinions regard how the hotel should improve their working units or what should be done to achieve optimal output in their areas of work. The hotel had a policy whereby the employees were allowed to visit the manager on their off-duty hours. The manager was also required to dine with the employees once every week in the boardroom where discussions took place. Bringing the employees together and listening to their needs is the most important step. It improves employee confidence and the employees are able to salute the senior staff anywhere within the working environment, keeping the hotel a warm and welcoming place for everyone.

The democratic leadership helps improve on group commitment in achieving the desired ends of the organization (Goleman, 2000). For most of the employees, their involvement in decision-making enables them to own the decisions and therefore implement them to the best of their abilities. Motivation is also another factor that accrues to democratic leadership. The employees are often motivated by the fact that there is no one bugging them to carry out activities. Rather, they are able to do the right thing at the right time as they are part of the teamwork, and they own the desired ends to which the organizational aims at achieving.

In democratic leadership, there is a high level of job commitment among the workers (Goleman, 2000). This is whereby the workers aim at achieving the desired end for the good of the business as well as the good of the group. They are able to enjoy the benefits that accrue to such actions and the results of the organization as a whole (Warrick, 1981). In this leadership, the workers are able to own the results of the firm and feel proud when the firm does well and thus motivate them in their work places. The hotel business is more of a process whereby the receptionist will receive a visitor, an attendant takes the visitor’s order and ensures that the customer is comfortable. The chef will prepare the food and the attendant will serve the customer. The entire process functions like a body whereby, if one part does not function, the entire process malfunctions. There is thus need to trigger a strong teamwork spirit.

In democratic leadership, the workers are able to adopt the policy changes that take place in the hotel since they are part of the team that has been charged with the responsibility to bring the change (Warrick, 1981). When a policy change is imposed on workers especially in other leadership models, at first there is a tendency to oppose the new requirements. However, in democratic leadership the workers own the decision and quickly adjust to the requirements to ensure that their desires are met within the shortest period possible. Democratic leadership increases the employee loyalty and cooperation (Warrick, 1981). When the democratic leadership is well employed, employees have a tendency to operate the hotel as if it were their own and in most of the instances, they are loyal ensuring that there is little loss in pilferage or customer misrepresentation. This ensures that the customers routinely come back owed to the quality of services offered at the hotel.

On the other hand, democratic leadership can be a disaster especially in situations where decision-making has to be quick (Goleman, 2000). The leadership does not embrace quick decision-making. Decision-making involves a process of consultation and discussions to come with the desired end. Secondly, the method is not effective in emergency cases (Goleman, 2000). This is so due to its laxity in handling fast arising issues. Moreover, the method cannot be applied in areas such as battle zones or where the employees do not desire to work. It is, therefore, important to stamp authority and use another method. In democratic leadership, a leader can neglect his/her duties and hence cause the system to malfunction as they have a tendency to allocate their duties to team players.