Train for the Task, Teach for the Crisis

We love to say we “train” our managers. Sounds good on paper. Feels like leadership.

But let’s be honest. Most training is just task orientation dressed up with PowerPoints and a little shadowing. It’s walking through reports, pointing at SOPs, and saying “Follow this.”

We’re training people to function. But are we teaching them to think?

Training tells them what to do.
Teaching shows them how to decide.

And if you want someone to lead in hospitality, they need to think fast because the unexpected is normal, not rare.

You can train someone to build a schedule or run night audit. But teaching means they understand why labor shifts midweek. Why does the forecast matters more than last year’s numbers. Why holding one person accountable protects the whole team.

Let me say it clearly.

If your idea of development is handing over a manual and a login, don’t act surprised when they freeze during a crisis.

I’ve seen managers with perfect training files who couldn’t explain a 10 percent drop in RevPAR. And I’ve seen others miss a checklist step but spot a safety issue no one else noticed and protect the team without being told.

Training builds repetition.
Teaching builds resilience.

The problem is that we’ve gotten too comfortable with surface-level readiness.

“Can they open? Can they close? Can they cover callouts?”
If yes, we pat ourselves on the back.

But here’s what we forget: the real test of a manager isn’t during routine. It’s when things fall apart.

When a bus group shows up three hours early and no rooms are ready.
When three-line cooks quit in one week.
When the owner walks in and says, “Make my guest happy.”
When a pipe bursts on Saturday night and the only one on-site is your AGM.

Trained managers will call you in a panic.
Taught managers will assess, prioritize, communicate, and act.

Teaching takes longer. It means answering questions. Having deeper conversations. Letting them fail safely so they learn how to recover.

It means walking with them, not just checking behind them.

It’s showing them that leadership isn’t about volume. It’s about timing. Knowing when to listen. When to speak. And when to act with clarity while others are stuck.

Teaching means mentoring, not performing.

I’ve had managers who needed help learning how to delegate, confront respectfully, and write schedules that worked for both the business and the team. I had to teach it, not once, not perfectly, but consistently.

At one hotel, after shifting to teaching-based development, one of our AGMs handled a full power outage alone. Guest satisfaction that week actually increased.

Because here’s the truth. If your managers don’t feel prepared, they’ll pretend they are.

And that’s when the damage begins.

So, ask yourself:

Are you checking boxes or building capability?
Are you throwing knowledge at them or teaching them to apply it?

Are you training to function or teaching to lead?

Train for the task.
Teach for the mindset.
Trust them to lead.

And maybe stop calling it “training” if you’re not actually teaching anything.

What’s one thing you wish you had been taught, not just trained, when you became a manager? Drop it below. Someone out there is trying to lead without a playbook.

#TrainAndTeach #BuildBetterManagers #LeadershipInLayers #HospitalityLeadership #MentorshipMatters