The Hospitality Mindset — Lionesses of Africa

by Laura Camacho, PhD

So many clients share with me that they feel super confident speaking up in their team meetings, when sharing with their boss, and even other stakeholders. But there are always certain situations where their minds turn to mush and they feel like confused second graders being hauled to the principal’s office. And those are precisely the meetings that can boost your visibility and let executives perceive your leadership potential.

What an irony that our brains often fail us when we most need them! Well, here’s the answer to that confidence conundrum: the Hospitality Mindset. I can already hear you thinking, “What is she talking about? This executive meeting is no dinner party – unless they decide to eat me!!”

What it is: The Hospitality Mindset is simply shifting your focus from worries of being judged to making others feel comfortable, just like they were invited guests in your living room. When people are welcome in your home, you as the hostess delight in making sure everyone is having a good time.

Communicating from the Hospitality Mindset, you get to work to put others at ease. You want everyone to feel welcome. You may not be able to offer them a cocktail, but you can ask them about themselves. Good hosts are avid listeners.

The Hospitality Mindset releases your anxiety and helps you to relax. When you relax, then others also feel comfortable and communication flows more easily.

The unexpected blessing here is that relaxing a trifle into the Hospitality Mindset comes across to others as massive confidence. No kidding! Try it and see.

When to use: The Hospitality Mindset shifts your thinking away from anxiety about how you will be judged to making others feel at ease. This mindset is the foundation of executive presence. 

The next time you feel jitters about that meeting or presentation, think of yourself as the host of that experience. That change of focus transforms the way you feel. Adopting the Hospitality Mindset means others perceive you as a confident and welcoming hostess, just the kind of person they would like to spend more time with.