Geraldine Dobey, General Manager of Hotel Barrière Le Fouquet's Paris

“The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.” Geraldine Dobey, Managing Director of the Hotel Barrière Le Fouquet's Paris and sponsor of the 2014 Luxury Hotelschool promotion, came to meet Master's students on Boulevard Haussmann campus to share her vision of leadership.

“We are not born leader, but one day, in our journey, we switch from the position of manager to that of leader. It becomes gradually, with experience and a very humanistic approach, through the judgment of others. The manager is a good manager. The leader is a guide, a visionary. He knows what to do at the right time, in difficult situations and in managing successes. It secures and federates its teams with sincerity and inspires confidence.”

Convinced that “good ideas and solutions often come from those on the ground,” Dobey advocates “collaborative and participatory” leadership. “A leader does not answer everything and, regardless of his experience, he learns every day, especially in this context of a health crisis. He surrounds himself with experts and relies on skills. Thus, he is not afraid of someone more competent than him on a given subject.”

“The leader must be exemplary by imposing himself the same know-how he demands of his employees. It embodies and protects the culture and DNA of the company.” Like a mirror, observing a team, it is also better to understand the personality of its leader.