Madison Techmanski
Director of Front Office, Cape Rey Carlsbad, A Hilton Resort
October 29, 2021
Describe your professional development path at Davidson – how did you get to where you are?
I started with Davidson nearly 4 years ago. In my time here I have worked in housekeeping, front desk, and even had to jump into the restaurant and lend a hand during this last year. I have had the opportunity to also help out some of our other properties with task force, opening, and transition.
What do you love most about being a leader?
I enjoy the diversity of my team and learning new things from them every day which helps me also improve as a leader. I have always loved teaching others and helping them move forward in their career development.
What is your management philosophy?
I have always believed in making my team self sufficient and providing them with all the tools and knowledge to run the department. I am always available to my team for support but I want them to have the confidence in themselves to make decisions. In my experience this allows my team to learn and prepare for the next step in their career.
What inspires you to be great?
I am inspired by people and different ways we all think or see things. I am inspired by teaching people and helping them grow in their career whether that’s in hospitality or not.
How do you inspire team members? (Give us examples!)
I always like to do something nice for my team for each holiday, I usually bring them homemade meals that we can enjoy together as a team. For the month of December I make everyone a stocking and spend the whole month filling it so they have something to open on Christmas. I also like to find different ways to make things fun like the on-boarding process or new trainings we have to do. I typically send my new hires on a scavenger hunt around the property rather than showing them a map or just taking them on a tour.
What advice/tips resonated with you most from mentors throughout your career?
Always remembering to keep the work/life balance.
What is the most pressing challenge you’ve faced and resolved in the past year?
We have all faced a lot of challenges this past year and it would be difficult to name just one but I think what I have learned most from this past year is to appreciate all the goods things you have in your life. It can be easy to get stuck in a negative mindset when it feels so many things are going wrong but learning how to keep positive and move forward is definitely a challenge I learned this year.