We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samuel LeBlanc a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Samuel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?
My first job that started my career in senior living was working at a retirement community a server. I was going to school for Food and Beverage at the time and in many of my classes senior living communities were the topic at hand, this is where my interest began. I will admit going to a Hospitality school tends to make one more perceptible to the finer things in life, and I immediately applied to a facility that served real restaurant style food. It was a part time job 4 hours a day 3 days a week it was so easy to get into also! The recruiting process was effortless. what stood out to me the most is I discovered how much I loved interacting with the residents while they dined with us, making sure they are enjoying all aspects of their mealtimes. I would try our specials every evening, so I am making recommendations that the residents will like and enjoy. They appreciated all the little touches I did to ensure satisfaction every time they had me as their server. it was the first job I ever felt like I knew how to do it with finesse I walked into that place knowing that I made people happy every time I am there. I loved that job with my whole heart, I craved working there I would go in 30 minutes early and wait to be on the clock just being in the building made me happy. I slowly understood that it was because I finally found something I was great at. I couldn’t have imagined having a different job now. It changed everything for me, and I will never forget that.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I was born in Qatar, I lived there for 21 years of my life. I am half Lebanese and I speak Arabic fluently. Growing up in Qatar, Hospitality isn’t a word nor is it a field of study; Hospitality is ingrained deeply in Middle eastern culture, I moved to the US in 2012 to broaden my scope of the world, I needed to see how other cultures interacted with each other and admittedly find a job that made me passionate about what I do now. What I found was Johnson County Community College, I was surrounded by young and old minds, all laser focused on how to better the craft of Hospitality. We had, and to my knowledge still have, one of the top competing Culinary teams in the country with countless national awards won in all the categories currently in existence. All by this small Community College in KANSAS of all places! The options were many and one that I had heard of but not had any first-hand experience in was the retirement community. I had grown up hoping that I would find my passion and here it was, staring me right in the face and I was hooked from day one. I started as a server, the lowest on the totem pole with the most to prove. As I climbed from position to position, I didn’t forget my natural ability to connect with people, truly connect with them. One of these connections led to a new opportunity with a coworker who was starting a new company. I enjoyed my time with Food & Beverage but as I climbed, I spent more and more time away from the guests, and I needed to get back to them. I began my journey with Ignite Medical Resorts as a newly minted Director of Hospitality, having never heard of Ignite Medical Resorts or Director of Hospitality, and my interest peaked. Something that grabbed me right away was Ignite’s focus on hospitality, it is integrated at every single level of the company and is not second but equal to excellent clinical outcomes. I knew from the beginning this was the right place for me. My role was to ensure all of our guests were happy and satisfied from the moment they walked in through our door, throughout the ups and downs of their stays, and finally a personalized farewell to let them know that they had finished their long-awaited goal.
To describe my position a bit I would compare it to a personalized concierge for every guest in the building. You will see I refer to our patients as guests, we use this language to reinforce the hospitality and reason behind our actions. A patient is a number, but a guest has name. Each guest falls under my umbrella of responsibility While I am not a clinical or therapy representative, I am often the bridge of communication between the different members of our team and the guest/family
My motto is, “I am the smile behind everything that you see here” My proudest moment as a Director of Hospitality, I had a wonderful resident who was celebrating his 60th year anniversary with his wife but it was during the worst time in covid, and it was almost impossible to allow anyone into our facility at the time. I worked with his family to set up a nationwide video call with his whole family all across the US. The day came 20 plus people from all over the country logged in and they all talked with each other sharing memories and laughing about inside jokes. I stood at the corner of the room just in case we had a technical issue during the call. That moment looking at my resident smiling looking up at his tv I knew I was in the right profession.
Any advice for managing a team?
Maintaining a high morale is not an easy task one of my favorite quotes comes from Niccolò Machiavelli was a political theorist from the Renaissance period. In his most notable work, The Prince, he writes, “It is better to be feared than to be loved, if one cannot be both.” He argues that fear is a better motivator than love, which is why it is the more effective tool for leaders. the way I manage is slightly different than a lot you see in the corporate world. I see managing a team with love and not fear is a good way to success. Giving your team a space where they can share everything with you so you build a relationship based on trust and transparency. As we all know those things are important in every aspect of our lives. That would be my best advice.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Its Ignites approach to hospitality what makes it the most important part of what we do. Warm welcomes and our lasting impressions are very important to us, it is the first interaction the guests have once they arrive to our resort. It is an Ignite Standard that the guest always has someone to greet them and make sure they feel welcomed immediately. Welcoming them into the resort makes their arrival much more personable. we are out in the market to showcase what we do best is hospitality meets healthcare. We set the tone from the beginning who we are, and what we are here to do. All staff go through an extensive Customer service training upon their first day of orientation to ensure that all staff practice our values and maintain our standards.
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