Baker Hospitality - Leadership Development Programme
Client: Baker Hospitality
Project: Management Development Programme
What they needed: To build confidence and consistency for their management team (front-of-house and chefs) and improve practical management skills.
What we delivered: A three-part programme delivered in person and online, and supported by learning journals for personal reflection and creating a personal development plan.
Result: Managers left with greater confidence, practical tools to lead effectively and consistently in a high pressure hospitality setting.
“It’s forced us to sit down together, come up with solutions and, as a consequence, improve our relationships and communication. It gave us the motivation and inspiration we needed.”
Baker Hospitality Leadership Programme.
The Context
Baker Hospitality operates a small group of thriving inns and taverns known for their warmth, quality and culture.
Some team managers had stepped into leadership roles for the first time and had stepped up to manage their former peers and friends. Others were experienced managers but lacked confidence, had difficulty delegating and giving feedback and found themselves in constant firefighting.
The Directors recognised a need to build confidence and consistency across their management group in three venues. They were aware that a culture of caution and fear of mistakes, rather than trust and psychological safety, had developed.
They were looking for a programme to reset, re-energise, and equip people with the skills and mindset to lead well.
What we delivered:
We began with a detailed brief and background notes on each manager’s development needs to understand their different strengths and challenges.
We designed a three-part programme delivered in-person and online. Workshops included a mix of group reflection (including personality profiling and emotional intelligence questionnaires), small breakouts, live coaching demos, and personal action planning. The programme was supported by a Learning Journal to record reflections, new ideas, and build a personal development plan. The tone was practical and human - no jargon, no rigid theory, just real tools for real people.
Leading You - a full-day in-person workshop focused on stepping into leadership, setting boundaries, and building accountability. We explored the importance of stepping back from daily firefighting to look at the big picture and solve the root cause of recurring problems. We created real-life scenarios familiar in a hospitality setting, teams discussed different approaches and developed new ideas for setting best practices around daily tasks like team briefings, customer complaints and staff absence.
Leadership Confidence - explored personality types and emotional intelligence, with reflective breakout discussions and real-world scenarios to help managers build empathy and self-awareness.
Leading Others - focused on managing your team, using coaching conversations, giving feedback and handling difficult conversations.
What they learned
The difference between leadership and management
Their leadership style and how to lead with confidence
Strategic thinking and problem-solving
Emotional intelligence and empathy.
Real skills including how to:
Communicate more clearly and assertively
Adapt their communication style based on personality types
Delegate and manage time more effectively
Set expectations and boundaries
Listen actively and use coaching conversations
Give better feedback and have difficult conversations
Leading team meetings and shift briefings
Coaching conversations.
Testimonials
“Polly worked with me from the very beginning to understand how our business works and built the workshop around our needs — making it bespoke to us, rather than an ‘off the shelf’ package. I would happily recommend Polly to any business.”
“It’s helped us to realise all the good bits we’re already doing and where we can share the load. It gave us the motivation and inspiration we needed.”
