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Leading Through Care: Aka Ali-Kerr on Soft Skills, Culture, and Trust in Hospitality
6 Plays19 days ago
In Episode 7 of MustardHub Voices: From the Frontlines, Julie sits down with Aka Ali-Kerr, Director of Human Resources at Andaz Miami Beach, part of the Hyatt Hotels portfolio, to explore what people-first leadership truly looks like in hospitality.
With more than 25 years in HR and a background in psychology, Aka shares why soft skills are often the biggest differentiator between good leaders and great ones. Drawing from her global career journey from Trinidad and Tobago to the U.S., she explains how culture, trust, and intentional leadership behaviors directly impact engagement, retention, and performance in frontline environments.
This conversation dives into leading multi-generational teams, navigating emotional intelligence on the front lines, embracing technology without losing the human touch, and why leaders must help employees understand the “why” behind their work. Aka also introduces her six leadership mandates—care with action, consistency with accountability, and competence with the right attitude—and explains why leadership is a badge of honor, not power.
It’s a powerful, thoughtful episode for hospitality leaders and anyone responsible for building cultures where people feel cared for, respected, and motivated to stay.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Mustard Hub Voices
00:00:06
Speaker
Hi, all. Welcome to Mustard Hub Voices from the Front Lines. In these fireside chats, we talk with leaders who roll up their sleeves to support and engage their teams, from healthcare care to hospitality, retail to the trades. We're diving into real stories and real strategies from the people who help make it happen every single
Meet Akka Ali Kaur
00:00:22
Speaker
day.
00:00:22
Speaker
I'm your host, Julie Ewald, and today I'm super, super happy to be speaking with Akka Ali Kaur. So, Akka, hello. hi Hi, Julie. How are you? i am i'm truly humbled um to be here. I am excited first to have a conversation and to unpack this amazing topic of ah leading and engagement, especially in hospitality.
Career Journey and Hyatt's Global Opportunities
00:00:49
Speaker
So I'm thrilled. um I am a director of human resources. I've been in this role for 25 years. um
00:00:58
Speaker
And I think I love this industry because people are my heart. um And to to serve in hospitality, you have to love people because whether you have a headache or not, the guest still pays the same um rate to sleep in the bed and to be served. So I really love what I do. I love hospitality and I am honored to lead others. That's that's truly my passion.
00:01:30
Speaker
So what organization are you working with currently and what's your role there? I work at Andaz Miami Beach, which is part of Hyatt Hotels. um i am I've been in the U.S. only about four years. and I'm originally from Trinidad and Tobago, hence my accent. um I was the director HR at Hyatt Regency Trinidad before I got the amazing opportunity to be transferred to the U.S. through Hyatt. And just a shameless plug, that's why I love working for Hyatt. because you get the opportunity to do what you love throughout the world. We have 280,000 employees throughout the world. I have many cousins um all over the world, but I truly love working for Hyatt. It really embodies who I am.
00:02:24
Speaker
Our purpose is to care for people so they can be their best. And that resonates with me as an ah HR leader.
Importance of Workplace Culture and Engagement
00:02:32
Speaker
You know, I totally accept the shameless plug, but also I think you touched on something that's really important. You know, as we think about, you know, like culture and engagement and employee retention, you know, it's really great to hear that you are being provided through Hyatt.
00:02:46
Speaker
ah a career path that you really enjoy. It's not just that you're like, okay, money, cool. It's like, no, this is something I want to do. This is something I can, I can endorse for other people. This is a great place to, to work. Absolutely. yeah It is. It really is. And that's what I love about, you know, some organizations talk about retention and growth, but retention and growth only happens when there's intentionality and action.
00:03:16
Speaker
And Hyatt has been intentional about growing um leaders and in showing them their career has continuity across countries. And I am a living testament to that.
00:03:33
Speaker
No, and it's, that's really, it's really great because one of the things that, you know, you see some organizations where it's really like they will talk the talk, but they can't walk the walk, you know, and it's, it's, so it's really, that's really good to see. And also, you know, again, it's all, there's so many different motivators for people out there, you know,
00:03:52
Speaker
for ah But for a lot of folks, being able to see this career path, there are other opportunities. I can move ah move around the world. I'm not yeah just stuck in one one role. And it sounds like they really set you all up for success there in terms of of being able to train, like training and upskilling and being able to present these opportunities. Absolutely. And I think if there is no plan, then you cannot achieve what you want to achieve. Hayat has a plan. There's succession planning. There's career planning.
Leadership Insights from Psychology
00:04:23
Speaker
There's feedback.
00:04:24
Speaker
um So how do you step into your purpose? I tell my teens all the time, feedback is a gift. And I have been able to get the gift of feedback over the last 14 years.
00:04:38
Speaker
And here I am because of that feedback, because of being better because getting better matters. So here I am just stepping into my purpose, adding value, be ah being of value as well as a leader.
00:04:55
Speaker
yeah So what originally attracted you to HR? What brought you into the world of human resources? I love that question. So let me give you a little insight. So my first degree is in psychology and i have a minor in lore I thought I wanted to defend battered and abused children.
00:05:17
Speaker
And there was one time we had to go to court to simulate and I was getting so emotional. I thought, hmm, maybe not law. And then I thought, how can I help people?
00:05:30
Speaker
And so I did my postgraduate in human resources. So that is how I got from psychology to human resources. But you know what, Julie? Me having a degree in psychology has helped me be a better leader as an HR practitioner because I try to understand the why.
00:05:53
Speaker
Why did you respond like that? What is going on? Let's get to the root of why you had an emotional breakdown or why you did something. And that is really augured well for my growth. It was a great foundation.
00:06:09
Speaker
I didn't know it, but now it's so firm, I'm able to navigate tough conversations. So much easier because I understand that people sometimes become a product of their environment.
00:06:23
Speaker
And so their response may be just be a knee jerk reaction. So how do you navigate that as a leader? Yes. You know, that's, I really like that because a lot of times, you know, there are some folks who you end up in leadership roles and they don't really realize that, you know, people behave in a certain way. you know, it's different people, different situations. However, we're all kind of wired in a certain way to do these things. And if you're not figuring out what the root cause is, you're not, you know, if you're trying to so treat the symptom and not the underlying issue, it's just going to keep happening and you're not actually...
00:07:00
Speaker
going to go anywhere in terms of organizational progress. Absolutely. And it's it's important that, and I love that you said that you have to treat the actual cause and not the symptom. um And it's not about putting a bandaid on a cut and you need stitches because the cut is just going to get worse until you deal with the root of the cut. And I think that has helped me understand the root People have a natural state and they have an adaptive state. How do I help you adapt?
00:07:38
Speaker
Because you have, you've come in an environment where in your home, for instance, there was always this very aggressive manner and disposition, but then you use it at work.
Leadership Challenges and Soft Skills
00:07:51
Speaker
So my conversation with you would be, I understand and I recognize you may be a product of your environment. However, you can change with intentionality and repetition.
00:08:04
Speaker
And so that becomes now your adaptive state and not your natural state to respond with emotions. So it's helped me navigate those tough conversations.
00:08:18
Speaker
You know, and that also makes me think of, I've heard a few folks talking about in terms of soft skills, particularly for people who are frontline workers and customer focused, yeah or or especially with entry level employees or lower wage earners, you know, they are maybe are newer to the workforce. They maybe are switching industries. yeah There's a whole host of things that they may not have those soft skills that allow them to properly work.
00:08:40
Speaker
communicate, cope, adapt with hard situations, yeah all sorts of things when it comes to both their colleagues and and customers. And, you know, yeah, it's just, it's interesting because it can be that kind of this, when you say like home environment, yeah well, you have poor soft skills. You don't have to just poor at work, happens at home. So then you just keeps going. So then you're in a bad mood because you did, you can't communicate. You can't interact in the world in a way that's,
00:09:09
Speaker
You know, it's maybe maladaptive, you come back to work and then next thing you know, your you're quitting or getting fired because you just, you know, don't have that. And so it's always interesting. though That's so powerful because for me, the differentiator between a good leader great leader is the soft skills.
00:09:32
Speaker
Because you want to be a leader that you would like to follow. I always ask myself, would I follow me? Like, that's my question. When I show up to work, does my attitude align to having an engaged team, a motivated team because of how I'm presenting myself?
00:09:56
Speaker
And so it's important that as leaders, we understand that the technical skills, that's an expectation. If you're in leadership, we, you need to be able to do a budget. You need to be able to do a strategic plan.
00:10:11
Speaker
However, what differentiates you is your ability to have authentic relationships, build loyalty, then build retention because you care for people.
00:10:25
Speaker
Right.
Technology's Impact on Leadership
00:10:26
Speaker
And so you create an environment of trust. Um, Trust really is critical to be a leader because people leave leaders.
00:10:37
Speaker
Yeah. um Recently, I read an article from Gallup and it said almost 70 percent of people in the exit interviews said they left because of their leader.
00:10:50
Speaker
And so when you understand that people may be leaving you, not the organization, then it's critical for you to understand why are they leaving?
00:11:01
Speaker
Is it of how you communicate, how you engage, how you give feedback? How you hold are people accountable? Are you cognizant of both your what and your how?
00:11:13
Speaker
Because communication is not only what you say, it's how you say it. And so those are the soft skills that you just mentioned that as a leader, you must have to navigate this particular workforce.
00:11:29
Speaker
And this workforce, Julie, five generations. You cannot be an effective leader if you are not able to meet people at their point of need.
00:11:45
Speaker
The way you deal with a millennial is different to Gen Z because they they are just different. They've grown up in a different space. So that is critical. Your soft skills, you you need to meet people at their point of need.
00:12:02
Speaker
Yeah. You know, it's really, it's interesting because when you think of the multi-generational workforce, yeah it's it yeah the diverse needs and motivations and everything, yeah you know, previously, you know, there, of course there were differences, but not, not like this.
00:12:18
Speaker
Now it's clearing. We have a workforce right now that is so accustomed to quick, They want a latte, they get it quick.
00:12:29
Speaker
They want their meal heated up, they put it in the microwave. They have not grown up, and I'm aging myself right now. When I was in college, we didn't have the amenities that they have right now that I had to do things.
00:12:50
Speaker
A cell phone, like now is normal, like, You know, now in college, back in college, I had to look for a phone booth and make a call. So, I mean, that tells you the just the diversity and the difference that you have to navigate as a leader. And if you don't have soft skills, people are going to leave you.
00:13:15
Speaker
Definitely. And it's, you know, it's kind of funny as you say that too. One of the things we kind of see, especially in the HR space, is there is kind of this tech divide where the technology is evolving rapidly. yeah You can do so much more with less. You're able to have capacities you didn't have before. You have insight you could never have before. You can do all of these great things. yeah But then you have some people in leadership who may not actually get it. They're going to be slow to adopt or they bring stuff on, you know, and it's like having a hammer, like the hammer isn't going to do anything if it stays in your drawer. Absolutely. I love that analogy. Yeah.
00:13:51
Speaker
A hammer is only rarely optimized when it's used. Yeah. And it's like technology. It's only optimized when it's used and used for what it's supposed to be used for. It's not to replace you.
00:14:07
Speaker
It's to minimize the tasks that don't add value. So you can step into the valuable tasks, like interacting with your team, interacting with the customer.
00:14:18
Speaker
That is what technology is about. So as a more mature leader, we have to navigate change because technology and ai it's not going anywhere.
00:14:31
Speaker
And if you do not get familiar with competent using, then you will be left behind. um and that's something that we have to embrace as leaders, that technology is here to stay.
00:14:45
Speaker
And we have to use it to make it better for us because that's also what the younger workforce, they are not into writing. they theyre They're confused actually when you take out a notepad. They're like,
00:15:01
Speaker
What are you doing? Why can't we just use ai to record and then write the minutes? Like that's what they do. That's that's normal to them.
00:15:13
Speaker
So as a leader, we have to embrace that. yeah that's that's Yeah, that is really funny that you say that. yeah um You know, I i myself am am the eldest of eldest millennials. And, you know, I notice a lot of times too, but I still will be like, if something I'm writing it down, like, or someone writes something down, I'm just like, okay, let me take a picture of that really quick. You know, like right away, you know, with something that scans it in and takes in the note. I'm like, okay, cool. They look at you like, like you are like, almost like having an out-of-body experience. They're like, what are you doing?
00:15:44
Speaker
Like I have a 23 year old and she'll be like, mom, just take a picture. What are you doing?
00:15:54
Speaker
So I take pictures now. i record. I use AI. Yes, I'm using it. yeah no Yeah, you have to. have to.
00:16:06
Speaker
Yeah. So I'm curious. I'm going to kind of change lanes a little bit. we We talk a lot um in terms of these conversations, on both on on this show and on Behind the Build, about yeah um people problems and certain challenges that you may see. not just in your organization, but maybe across the hospitality industry or just business at large. What are some of these you know people problems and challenges that you're kind of seeing either bubble up or not going
Understanding Workforce Needs
00:16:34
Speaker
away? That's such a great question.
00:16:39
Speaker
The people challenges, to be honest, comes from people who have been promoted and into incompetence to lead others. Leadership is a skill, just like everything else. The first time i rode a bicycle, I fell off, but I needed to practice.
00:17:03
Speaker
I needed to continuously go onto the bike and get more comfortable. There are many people that feel that leadership, I don't have to practice. I don't have to grow. I don't have to learn. I'm just going to promoted.
00:17:16
Speaker
The competencies required to do a task is different to leading someone to do a task. So I think like everything else, leadership, everything rises and falls on leadership.
00:17:29
Speaker
And people problems are no different. The root of people problems is poor leadership. And we have to, and I say we, because me being a leader, i I am part of the we.
00:17:44
Speaker
We have to understand that leadership is a badge of honor, not a badge of power. We cannot lead another person, especially the younger workforce, because they're going to tell you no and they're going to ask you why.
00:18:00
Speaker
You cannot lead them by just telling them what to do. You cannot demand them to respect you. They are going to respect you if you respect them.
00:18:12
Speaker
So that to me is the root of people problems. When you get leadership right, then people problems, it goes away. Yeah. You know, one of the things you said and is, you know, the they will say no and they will ask why. Yes. And it's, you know, again, back to the multigenerational workforce. Correct. know, there's a lot of folks that you just did what you were told. You get your paycheck. And for somehow on minimum wage, you own a house and have five kids. Correct. Cool. You know, that's.
00:18:44
Speaker
Not what's going on today. um But, you know, it was also you you you put in your time. So it doesn't matter how well you perform as long as you're not um doing so poorly. You're getting, you know, shoved out the door. Yeah, I'm going to get more money. Yeah, I'm going to get more more PTO. Yeah, I'm going to become a manager. yeah you know, and it didn't matter. But, you know, now...
00:19:07
Speaker
because of the different skill sets and everything that change. You know, that's not how it is. um But two, the other point is If you are leading poorly, you know, people will, they will tell you no, but also like people for engagement, they also need to understand like what they do. Like, you know, if you're working in a factory and they're like, okay, you know what? You're going to just punch out all these wi like widgets all day and you send down the line, like you could do that. but you're like, I wonder what happens to the the widgets. Like, why are we making all these widgets? Are they part of something? Do they do something? Like, it's easy to be like, I'm just, I am I at the widget now? Yes. And then for all you know, they're just getting in the box and just getting you know someone else's is job is just taking your boxes of widgets to the dumpster. you know yeah it's yeah it really
00:19:55
Speaker
People need to really understand the why in this the current workforce. you need You need to, because when I understand why, then there's ownership. When I own something, I'm more intentional to see it be successful. Right.
00:20:13
Speaker
No longer can we give instructions and walk away. You have to share the why. You have to tell the person, if you do this, this is the impact, whether it's on service, whether it's on the bottom line, whether you need to share that. And that is something that the more mature leaders, they're not as willing to. They are still into just giving instructions and wondering, why didn't you comply?
00:20:40
Speaker
But we have to navigate. We have to pivot. We have to be more comfortable being uncomfortable. And that's something that as a leader in this present time, you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable because things are changing so rapidly.
Role of Culture in Employee Retention
00:20:57
Speaker
the workforce, what their needs are, you know what what they will accept, the higher turnover because people are leaving. yeah Before, a few years ago, turnover was not as high as it is now.
00:21:18
Speaker
Right now, especially in hospitality, turnover is so pervasive. And people leave most times for two things, compensation and culture.
00:21:33
Speaker
Those are the two Cs why people leave. If the culture is not conducive, I'm going to leave. i'm not going to stick around. They're not loyal.
00:21:45
Speaker
Their loyalty, it it fluctuates. Yeah. The cradle to grave employee, that's long gone. They will jump from job to job to job until they find something. And them settling is a year, two years. They think that's a long time.
00:22:06
Speaker
Right. So how do you ensure that you get loyalty and that only happens when you have a relationship. People are loyal to people. Yeah. You know, and there's also, um I'm horrible at rumbering stats, but there I know there has been some research done, even in terms of not just within ah relationships with leadership, but also coworkers. Absolutely. Yeah. It's astounding how much longer people will stay in a role if they have close relationships with their coworkers, close friends that have become close friends.
00:22:38
Speaker
It doesn't matter They're like, I could get more compensation elsewhere. Oh, I could get better benefits. Oh, like all these other things, unless it's completely dire, they're more likely to stick around where they have these close relationships. And that's culture. That's culture. Creating that environment where you have some synergies, you build relationships, you build trust, you have a best friend at work, you know, that type of thing. you are able to kind of pull out loyalty and retention when you have a healthy culture.
00:23:18
Speaker
And companies, those top 500 companies, when you look at their culture, the culture is so magnetic and engaging that people stay.
Insights from Akka's Book on Leadership
00:23:33
Speaker
They stay because of culture. Yeah. Yeah. So... I think it might be time to wrap it up and ask you my favorite, my one of my, I really enjoy um kind of ending it like this because you have a lot of great expertise, a lot of great ideas. um You know a lot about this stuff. um So I'm curious about what would be like one call to action, your biggest tip, um you know, one last idea really, you know, overall,
00:24:07
Speaker
What do you want to leave the audience with? What you think is... yeah
00:24:16
Speaker
I wrote a book titled the Master Guide to Leadership Through the Lens of Care. And there are six mandates in this book that I want to leave with your your listening audience.
00:24:32
Speaker
Care with action. Care is a verb. It's not a noun. It's not an adjective. If you say that you care as a leader, you need to show that you care.
00:24:45
Speaker
So that's care with action. The other two mandates is consistency with accountability. You need to be consistent as a leader.
00:24:58
Speaker
i make this analogy all the time. When we get into an airplane, you are expecting to reach to your destination safely When people enter your space as a leader, they are expecting to leave home in the same sound mind as they came to work.
00:25:20
Speaker
You need to be consistent as a leader. People shouldn't be walking on eggshells because you are there.
00:25:29
Speaker
Accountability. You cannot hold others accountable if you first don't hold yourself accountable. As a leader, you must have clean hands and a pure heart.
00:25:41
Speaker
If you are coming late, you have lost the moral authority to hold somebody accountable for coming to work late. And the other two mandates is competence with the right attitude.
00:25:55
Speaker
The competencies that I'm referring to are not the technical competencies. I am referring to your relationship management. Your resilience, your creativity, your emotional intelligence, those competencies, and we alluded to it previously, your soft competencies, your behavioral competencies is what you need to hone in on. And your attitude.
00:26:23
Speaker
Your attitude determines the altitude of your team. As a leader, you could take your team up or you could take your team down. So those six mandates are what I lean into. i It's the three C's and three A's.
00:26:42
Speaker
Care with action, consistency with accountability, and competence with the right attitude. I love that. So as we wrap it up, though, tell us a little bit more about your book. So you know what should folks who pick it up yeah expect to find?
00:27:02
Speaker
um Let me tell you why I wrote the book. I did not want to write a book. i wrote a book kicking and screaming.
00:27:13
Speaker
um I did not want to be scrutinized by people that I may never meet.
00:27:21
Speaker
And you put yourself out there, right? I wrote this book in the middle of the pandemic. Many people were calling me and asking, Akka, how are you keeping your team motivated and engaged in this pandemic, in hospitality, where you have to stand six feet away from each other and smile. Smile with your eyes because your mouth is covered.
00:27:45
Speaker
You remember those days? And that's why I wrote this book, because I want to help people be the best version of themselves. And that's why I wrote the book Leadership, the Master Guide to Leadership through the Lens of Care.
00:28:00
Speaker
Everything that we do You need to care for people. And in the pandemic, The crisis, when a crisis happens, that's when you see all the anomalies.
00:28:13
Speaker
That's why we had the great resignation after the pandemic. Because people left leaders. They said, you didn't care for me in the pandemic. You didn't want me to work from home. Now it's okay for me to work from home because it serves you.
00:28:28
Speaker
And that's why I wrote the book. I wrote the book because I need people, leaders, to understand that care is your differentiator. And that care is a verb.
00:28:40
Speaker
And leading others is a badge of honor, not a badge of power. And that's why I wrote the book. So if someone wants to pick up this book, where can they find it?
00:28:53
Speaker
Oh, you could find it on Amazon. I have the Kindle and the Audible as well. um You could pick it up on Amazon. And um for me,
00:29:06
Speaker
The best compliment that you could ever give me is thank me for making you a better leader and stewarding these amazing human assets that you get the opportunity to steward. Like you get to make a mark on someone for the rest of their lives.
Conclusion and Further Engagement
00:29:30
Speaker
now Like it's such it's such a humbling compliment opportunity.
00:29:36
Speaker
And so that that's what I want people to walk away from. Understanding that you must leave people better than you met them. And you cannot be turbulence as a leader. You cannot create turbulence. You have to be the person that's able to stabilize your team and get them home safely at of the day.
00:30:02
Speaker
This was a fantastic way to end it. So if anyone wants to follow up with you, where can they find you online? Should they stalk you on LinkedIn? Yes. LinkedIn is the best. I love it. Stalk me. Just message me. I mean, or, you know, they could just send you a line like, you know, like a normal person, but, well, you know, they should follow you. Yes. Type your book. Definitely. Like and share everything. And I am, I am available um because,
00:30:29
Speaker
For me, it's about leaving a legacy. And many people ask, Akka, why do you give advice and you don't charge people? Because my payment is not necessarily only monetarily. My payment is, i remember Akka told me to do this.
00:30:48
Speaker
I did this. Someone else is happy as a result of someone is more productive because engagement is linked to productivity, which is linked to profitability.
00:31:00
Speaker
When you have an engaged workforce, the money flows because people are just more productive when they're happy. So read my book. Yes.
00:31:13
Speaker
Fantastic. So Aka, thank you so much for being here today. um i appreciate you so much. And for everyone who's watching and listening, thank you for joining us here at Mustard Hub Voices from the front lines. ah Please like, share, comment, subscribe, all that kind of good stuff. Also make sure to check out Mustard Hub Voices, Behind the Build, our sister series.
00:31:35
Speaker
ah And you know if you didn't have enough to do already, visit mustardhub.com to learn all about us and sign up to get started for free. Thank you so much. Until next time.