A good 'boss' is truly and genuinely concerned with your growing into a successful professional with original thoughts.

A feudal boss will make sure you never leave, unless and until he/she decides it is convenient.

Do not confuse loyalty and feudalism. The idea of feudalism is to keep one under another one’s thumb, often disguising the practice as one of rewarding their loyalty.

When you started your career, did you not careen toward someone with a strong reputation in the industry, hoping to glean from him/her as much wisdom and knowledge as possible? And to move on at a later date, once you feel the gleaning process is complete.

And what happened when you shyly went into the office, already embarrassed to be “disloyal” to someone who “gave you so much”? Looking for something better is all but disloyal. You were hired for a job, you performed the job and got paid for the job. For the job, not for more.

There are way too many “lord-bosses” who proudly introduce their key people (Senior Management) “Jo has been with me for 11 years” as if Jo was a St. Bernard or a German Shepard. If you think you are a “great boss” because your people stay with you, allow me to correct you: you may well be the worst boss there is. Your people stay because you keep the door shut, because you steam roll them, because you keep on convincing them they are not ready for a better role.

A stable of stale people can only promote one thing: mediocrity and aversion to change.

Do not impose it to your guests and staff.

A good employer will encourage key staff to move on, will encourage them to be receptive to offers from the outside, and will not penalize them for wanting something better. The sourpuss employer is the one giving poor references out of spite, the one who fires you on the day when you give your 30-day notice. Even if it hurts business.

There are some General Managers who move around every other year and bring their staff with them without any regard for their level of competency, just to prove that they have their loyalty.

This General Manager ought to know that, the fewer people know their dirty laundry, the better for all concerned.

Benoit Gateau-Cumin - Chief Recruiting Officer. Born and raised in France, Benoit managed to scoop up a French law degree prior to studying Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Upon graduation in 1975, he engaged in an eleven-year hotel management career that took him to Chicago, New York, Washington DC, San Diego, Istanbul, Jamaica and Hawaii. He held positions with Omni, Hyatt, Hilton International, ITT Sheraton and Méridien, as well as Honolulu’s unique Halekulani, consistently rated as one of the world’s best.

Benoit was bit by the “headhunting” bug in 1986, and has not relented yet. He founded The Boutique Search Firm in February 1992. His motto: small is beautiful. Benoit loves to mountain bike, take long walks with his wife Susana and their two dogs, and tinker with his budding collection of classic English sports cars.

benoit@boutiquesearchfirm.com / www.boutiquesearchfirm.com