Christiane Binder,
Director of Human Resources, Hilton Garden Inn Denver Union Station
February 25, 2021
Christiane Binder
Describe your professional development path at Davidson – how did you get to where you are?
Good communication, teamwork and leadership is what I learned from my previous mentors in the industry and these values are still instilled in me to this day.
What do you love most about being a leader?
What I love most about being a leader, especially in my role is “Relationships. Relationships not only with our team members but also by our hotel guests. There’s so much you can learn from someone from a simple smile that will automatically encourage conversations which turns into a relationship.
What is your management philosophy?
My management philosophy consists of learning through interaction with others by providing feedback and being a role model to others.
What inspires you to be great?
What inspires me to be great each day is leadership. I am extremely grateful for the leaders I work with each day. You know the feeling you get when you work with a great leader(s) that bring something to the table. Their passion, trust, respect and ability to bring people together and get them to work towards a common goal is amazing.
How do you inspire team members?
I inspire team members by skills, knowledge and strength in order to increase their potential for their own development. Empowering a Team Members and letting them make a decision right or wrong will strengthen their own learning skills. Lead by doing things together as a team.
What advice/tips resonated with you most from mentors throughout your career?
What resonated with me the most throughout the years is being able to make my own mistakes and learn from them. To this day, I still use examples of my past gave give team member my history when mentoring any team member past or present.
What is the most pressing challenge you’ve faced and resolved in the past year?
I believe I speak for everyone when I say 2020 was the most difficult year. In my role as the HRD I suddenly had to wear numerous other hats from friend, advisor, psychologist and so many others. Throughout the past year we all had many different challenges to face, however the one things that stood out the most is how responsive our team members were with me throughout the pandemic. Each Sunday afternoon I would email an email blast updating the team on what we are doing at the Hotel, updates from our owners and most of all just checking in on everyone. The positive responses I received was so heartwarming. They were sharing their own stories with me to share with others at the Hotel. Some picked up hobbies they never knew they had, while others pursued their dreams of painting, sculpting and wood crafting. We all truly came together as a team and felt like we were still under one roof even though we weren’t. It was an experience that we will all never forget.