CONVERSATIONS WITH
SETH MATTISON CONTINUED
P: Labor shortage was a huge issue in
the spa industry prior to the COVID-19
pandemic. How can spas leverage
generational workforce changes to attract
new workers?
M: Even though we have historically
been bad at it, the research is
clear about what’s required to
create engagement with our
teams. If we create an amazing
place to work where people feel a
deep sense of belonging, an environment
where they can fully be themselves,
all the way, where they can
stretch and grow and expand into
their highest selves, those same employees
will in turn serve as your
greatest recruiting asset. The only way
you can create a great place to work is
to go to work first and foremost on
yourself as a leader. There are no
magic formulas and it’s not about the
money. It always comes back to the
leader. A Gallup study of over 7,000
Americans concluded that one in two
people had left a job at some point
during their career to get away from
their managers in order to improve
their overall quality of life. People
don’t leave companies, they leave
managers. Learn to lead yourself, then
lead your team. The team will take
care of the rest.
There are two top drivers of engagement
that spa leaders must embrace:
trust and confidence in the
future of the organization and you as
a leader, and opportunities to learn
and grow. The challenge relatively flat
organizations like spas have is that
there typically isn’t a large career ladder
for staff to climb, so when we see
strategies like “opportunities to learn
and grow” it’s easy to immediately
think, “We don’t have a place for
“...where leaders
no longer see
themselves as leading
from the top of the
hierarchy but instead
from the center of
the network.”
people to move up in our business,” or
“What if I train my people and then
they leave me?!” To that I always say,
“What if you don’t train them and
they stay?” It’s an easy choice. This is
not just about career paths and “moving
up,” this is about “skilling up.” This
is about caring enough about an individual’s
growth and development that
we’re okay if their path leads them
somewhere else.
P: How do you recommend spa
leaders keep older workers happy as
workplace hierarchies continue to
evolve?
M: Again, I’ll go back to the idea that
what we’re really working towards
is unleashing the power of both
hierarchy and network. Structure
and Agility. While we said hierarchy
provides the clarity, order, and
predictability older spa professionals
have come to expect and often appreciate,
with that structure has historically
come very little freedom.
On the flip side, network provides
freedom but with that freedom comes
ambiguity and uncertainty as things
move and change very quickly. That
uncertainty can make folks feel everything
from anxiety to fear which in
turn reduce engagement and lower
productivity.
We want to bring a balance of both.
I want to create an environment with
just enough structure to help my
people feel safe coupled with just
enough “agility” to help them feel free.
When our cultures are rooted in
both of these values magic happens.
We lead spas where people feel not
just safety from understanding expectations,
but they feel psychologically
safe, too. They feel safe enough to
bring their whole self to work. That
safety, paired with freedom, creates
workplaces on fire with passion, purpose
and a deep sense of belonging—
all of which shape powerful client
experiences.
P: What can spa leaders do right now
to immediately become better leaders
for the next generation of work?
M: If I walked into your spa today the
first thing I would ask is, “Tell me
52 PULSE ■ JUNE 2020