Founder and Chairman of Four Seasons Hotel

 Background:
  • Isadore Sharp is a Canadian hotelier. He is founder and chairman of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. After graduation, Sharp went to work for his father’s company full-time as an architect and real estate developer, building apartment buildings and houses. He founded the Four Seasons Hotel in 1960 and opened the first hotel on Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto in 1961.
  • On November 6, 2006, Bill Gates, through his holding company Cascade Investments LLC, and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal made an offer to take Four Seasons Hotels private for US$3.4 billion (excluding debt). Sharp would remain chairman and chief executive of the company. He also would be able to realize proceeds from a 1989 incentive plan that would pay him $288 million. The company's headquarters would remain in Toronto.
Achievements:
  • Founding of Four Seasons Hotels: built and opened the first Four Seasons, a 125-room motor hotel, in Toronto, Canada, in 1961 after founding the company the previous year
  • In 2011 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Luxury Travel Mart
  • In 2010 was inducted into the Hall of Leaders by the US Travel Association
  • Authored a book in 2009 detailing the history and philosophy of the company entitled "Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy"
  • In 2009 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University.
  • In 2009 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Hotel Investment Fund
  • In 2008 was named a Companion to the Order from the Canadian Business Hall of Fame (first inducted in 1998)
  • In 2008 was awarded the Visioinary Awards from the Marketing Hall of Legends
Leadership Style:
  • People Orientated
It may seem obvious that in the hotel business, service is a primary objective, but it is how that service is delivered that sets Four Seasons apart.One way to characterize Four Seasons service would be to call it an exchange of mutual respect performed with an attitude of kindness.
Defining and enforcing the company culture was one of four key strategic decisions made in the formative years of Four Seasons history. Sharp sat down with his communications experts and wrote down the fundamentals of his company’s culture, which is based on the Golden Rule – to treat others as you wish to be treated. A lot of companies talk about having a culture, but he knew he had to walk the talk if he expected it to thrive in his hotels.
Top 3 Leadership Traits:

1. Motivating

Isadore Sharp believes that the crucial task of leadership is to bring out the best in his people. He is very excited when he realized how many people have developed along with the company, people at every level who have matured on the job. And if he have done his job right, his people won’t be saying, “He did it,” they’ll be saying, “We did it.” Sharp believes that by nurturing the full potential of every willing worker from top to bottom, businesses can tap a unique source of leadership and success for the 21st century.

 Being a motivating hospitality leader plays a vital role in a hotel’s success. Leaders must seek to motivate and inspire his or her people to bring out the best in them. Because it is a 24/7 business, hoteliers need to be motivated to excel and deliver excellent service in their individual roles. The success of a hotel is a result of the whole team - management and line staff, so it is essential that each and every one is being motivated at work daily.

2. Responsibility

According to Sharp, the most essential quality of leadership – and the one most often overlooked – is responsibility. He says that responsibility is always taken for granted and that it comes with authority. These 2 elements go hand in hand with each other. He took on the mantle of responsibility to create a governing purpose that unites. He did that, first of all, by establishing a meaningful goal which is an overriding purpose that most people can relate to. If the goal is clear and the focus is sharp and constantly reinforced, then he has unify and energize through a sense of common purpose.

 A leader must be responsible in the hospitality industry. With great powers come great responsibilities. When people see that their leader takes responsibility because of his actions and roles, they are more inclined to follow his or her ideals. This will result in a more faithful workforce because the industry is one with high turnover rates. Employees retention is therefore curical.

3. Integrity

Sharp built his company’s culture based on the Golden Rule that stats ‘Treat others as how you want to be treated.’ He believes that trust – in integrity and openness – is the measure of a good leader. He says that ethics plays a big role in how individuals and companies form their principles. If everyone had been more concerned about the ethical outcome of what they were doing, the world wouldn't have suffered through the financial problems of recent years. At Four Seasons, treating others well, trust and integrity are at the center of everything he and his employees do.
Integrity plays an important role to the image of a hospitality leader. The overall success of a business depends on the integrity of each and every body in the business. With that said, the leader is one whom everyone looks up to. If the leader does not display trust and openness to his employees, then the business will be in real trouble.