What we leave behind: Greatness beyond titles

There comes a point in every leader’s journey when titles start to lose their shine. The words printed on a doorplate or business card can open doors, but they can’t keep them open. What endures isn’t the title. It’s the impact left behind.

Leadership thinker Michael Kouly wrote that titles can be assigned, but greatness must be earned; daily! That distinction feels especially true in the world of hospitality, where leadership is measured not by control, but by connection.

In our region, hospitality, far more than a business, one dares to say: it’s a reflection of who we are. The Middle Eastern tradition of hosting “places great importance on generosity, warmth and respect, making guests feel welcome and honoured”. This tradition shapes how we treat visitors, how we lead teams and serve communities. It helps us refocus on the fact that leadership, at its core, is about the art of inclusion. It is the joyous journey of making people feel they belong in something larger than themselves.

So, true hospitality leadership can be quiet. It doesn’t need to declare importance; it shows it through care, through how attentively it listens and through how consistently it delivers. Horst Schulze, co-founder of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, captured it well: “Leadership is creating an environment in which people want to be part of the organisation and not just work for the organisation”.

That kind of environment cannot be ordered into existence. It’s built slowly, through empathy, patience and trust. When people feel they truly belong, they stop performing out of obligation and start creating out of pride. That’s when culture becomes real and when people carry your values even when you’re not in the room.

In the heart of Middle Eastern hospitality lies another timeless lesson. As one reflection put it, “The host is always thinking about what else you might need and what else they can give. It’s never inconvenient. It’s never too much”.

That instinct to anticipate rather than react defines great service. It also defines great leadership. I believe the best leaders respond to problems, true, but they preemptively remove friction before it appears. They sense where people struggle and quietly make it easier for them to succeed.

This is why hospitality has always been a powerful teacher for leadership. It trains us to see people before processes, to listen before we fix and to recognise that strength often looks like kindness in motion. The tone of a team, the quality of a guest experience, even the rhythm of a workplace reflects the emotional footprint of the leader.

The poet Maya Angelou once wrote: “People will forget what you said, forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. In hospitality, this truth is almost sacred. Every detail , whether a smile, a gesture, a tone of voice shapes how someone feels.

Leadership works the same way. People may forget the meetings and memos, but they never forget how a leader made them feel while working with them. They might forget your position, but they’ll remember your posture.

As I’ve grown in this field, I’ve learned that the real test of leadership is not how much depends on you, but how much endures without you. Great leaders build systems that outlast their presence. They design processes that breathe without supervision and cultivate people who can lead with confidence, not dependence. That’s how legacy is built, both in how loudly you lead and even more in how quietly others continue the work.

Hospitality teaches us that the truest form of power is influence without imposition. It’s the ability to inspire consistency without control, excellence without fear and pride without ego. You can sense when this kind of leadership exists as it shows in the small things: in the way teams greet guests, in how decisions are made with grace and in how people talk about their work with respect, not resignation.

So perhaps the question every leader should ask isn’t “What’s my title?” but “What will remain because I was here?” Will the people I’ve led stand taller? Will the work continue to carry a sense of purpose? Will the culture keep welcoming, teaching and serving — even when I’ve stepped away?

Because your greatness, in its purest form, shouldn’t be about you in the spotlight, but rather about the light you leave on for others.

Dr Salim al Flaiti