In my 20 years working within the hospitality industry, I have had the pleasure of working with some utterly incredible leaders. People who, when it’s not going to plan or it seems impossible to get a positive outcome, always deliver the goods.

Leaders like James McGinn, Adrian McNally, and the great late Adrian McDaid, all of whom have shaped the way that I now react to high-pressured situations. All have taught me how to manage myself and most importantly how to manage other people’s expectations. These are skills that are sorely missing from political leadership currently. Marching people up hills to leave them up there is often a phrase quoted in our politics. It is the ability to hold your hands up and say that you have made a mistake that is the true sign of leadership.

Yes, hospitality often gets a bad reputation, and at times rightly so, as no industry is perfect. But when it comes to delivering results on a minute by minute, day by day and month by month basis, the industry is never found wanting. This comes down to fantastic leadership from the top and the skill of bringing people along with them. Any one of the aforementioned leaders would be seen in the middle of the pressure zone helping and teaching others. Effectively they all come from the grassroots of hospitality – never forget that.

Again, at times we have a disconnect with some of our political leaders as they are not at the grassroots day and daily. If you need to ask constantly what people’s issues are, rather than seeing the issues before they become a problem you are missing a huge leadership trait. How can you truly expect people to vote for you if they do not see you walking side by side with them steadfastly?

The skills required to lead people are not taught at university, nor from spending years behind a desk researching how to lead people. Instead, it is a reflection of your natural born talents. You can learn some elements but a lot of being a leader comes from within you. It’s then about how you can bring that out in an honest way to make it easy for people to follow.

One of the best leaders I have had the honour of working with is Michael O’Neill when he was managing the Northern Ireland football team. His management was instinctual. He just knew when to put his arm around a player and when to stick a foot in the proverbial. A true leader who took a band of merry men from 1.8m people in Northern Ireland and got them to perform shoulder to shoulder with some of the world’s largest countries. Imagine if we had leadership in the political sense that could take Northern Ireland into the future and beyond, to perform on a global stage consistently.

All these leaders exist in Northern Ireland, but we often find that they are not attracted to serve as a political representative. Why? Are we creating an environment that is open to bringing these talents in? Why is our public sector not a feeding ground for talent hungry private companies as it is in London?

Not all the greatest leaders have a degree in History, Law or Politics. So, we need to change the narrative at times to who we would see as the best fit. Become more welcoming to those from outside the norm when looking at candidates to see if we can change the shape of our future leadership. Politics does need to open up and be more attractive to those from outside the norm if we really want to change the direction of the future.

As Albert Einstein said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Brian Donaldson