As I celebrate 1 year with Four Seasons, here are Four things the organisation has taught me.
1. It is better to have 3-pages of culture that are practiced heavily across the board, than to have 25-pages of culture that are hardly ever referred to. Our motto is “Treat others the way you wish to be treated”, and it is the core of our conduct, both internally and externally.
2. If you treat and trust your team like adults, you will empower them to think and behave like adults. If you treat them like kids, they will rebel as kids do. The only time my boss speaks to me like a child is with wisdom and insight, thinking of me as a child of her own that she wants to see grow.
3. It is better to help a square find a square mould, than to judge it for not fitting into a circular mould. When you identify a talent, before reducing them to their flaws, consider that their current role may not be showcasing the value they are capable of contributing.
4. In an industry focused on consumer-experience, the best way to engage your team is to grant them access to that very experience for themselves. The benefits program allows every last employee the chance to enjoy dim sum in Hong Kong, fondue in Geneva, and seafood in the Maldives. You cannot motivate a team to deliver an experience that is off-limits to themselves.
Every time a client has asked me why they should choose Four Seasons for their event, their wedding, or their company’s travel program, I’ve always responded with something along the lines of this: At Four Seasons, the way they treat us makes us want to be our best selves for you. This isn’t a brand where people are reading from scripts and dragging themselves to work. This is hospitality in its truest form. 🎄
To Meng and Shengwen, who took a chance on me a year ago.
We wish the JLL team a happy 2025! May the coming year bring more sustainable progress and success.