Inspiring Woman of the Month

Since joining the Accor Hospitality group ten years ago, Zahra has lived in four different countries and travelled so frequently that she’s lost count. However, after spending just three years in Paris, Zahra decided to start all over again and move to a new country.  She asked herself, “Why”? Was she in search of stability, was she drawn to the unknown or was she just looking at a career promotion?

One thing she was sure of was that, after developing the Accor brands in Africa for three years, she wanted to go back to hotel operations, travel less and have a home that she could enjoy.

 She thought leaving the country meant that she was ready to move on with her life and overcome the pain and sorrow that some life situations had created a few years before. She soon realised that she was actually just starting a new chapter in her life with deep feelings and emotions, and had hardly any friends to share these with. It didn’t take long for her to
acknowledge that it was going to be a process that would lead to internal growth.

Trust
During those three years in Paris, Zahra didn’t think that she was doing much for her career; however, the position that she held was her saving grace, as the travelling helped to distract her, and avoid dealing with her emotions. Thus, the proposal of Managing Director of Hotel Formula 1 (Pty) Ltd in South Africa came as an amazing surprise. Her managers recognised her effort and potential, and trusted her with this role as they knew that she needed new challenges in order to grow.

Management Team
In April and May 2008, Zahra spent time in South Africa with Vincent Joyner, who was the Managing Director for Hotel Formula 1 and Chief Executive Officer of Accor Hospitality Southern Africa,  discussing the business and the ongoing sustainable development projects, meeting some of the Close Corporation Managers, and trying to get as much information as possible to make the right decision.

She wondered if this position would help her to thrive, and whether she was the right person to make the business grow. Of greater concern, was she ready to work with a management team made up of women? It so happened that several members of the former team had left the company or were transferred, and that the best suitable new candidates were all women. She had not worked with an all-women team previously and wasn’t sure what to expect. However, the challenge was exciting so she accepted the offer.

Fears
Zahra left Paris, apprehensive about what to expect from Formula 1 South Africa. However, she felt comfortable as Vincent was there to guide her, inform her of what had been done in the past and show her how the business was operating. She could feel the pressure of expectation from the team, who were waiting to see what changes she would implement and how she would manage them.

The existing management team gave her fantastic support, and were doing an excellent job managing the daily situations and operations. Zahra thought it essential that she allowed the team to maintain control of the daily operations, in order to allow her to maintain a vision for the group. In order to do that, she needed to assess the current business situation, know the position of the hotels in the market, and learn more of the growing competition and the loss of market share that Formula 1 Hotels were facing. This also enabled her to communicate with the Closed Corporation Managers better and understand what they were enduring daily.  

As Zahra decided that she was going to dedicate most of her time to work and put aside her personal fears, she realised the importance of being emotionally comfortable in her work environment. However, she learned that the two were not mutually exclusive and she had to work though her emotions to be successful at work.

Sharing a vision in the new wave
It took the new team some time to familiarise themselves with the business, their individual responsibilities, and each other in order to work together efficiently.

Zahra spent time travelling in November and December for meetings. However, during her time away, she began to envision the future of Hotel Formula 1, and was keen to share this with the team. They spoke about renovating their hotels, introducing web distribution, flexible pricing, communicating via the media and more. They had a common goal and vision, which became the first step in their relationship. The next one was to communicate it to the CC Managers and get them to come along on this journey in the new wave.  With this shared vision they had a motivated team, striving to achieve a common goal.  The sky was the limit!

Turning point
In February 2009, at the company’s annual Brand Conference which is held in order to communicate the results of the past year and the objectives for the current year, the team met Robin Wheeler -  who was invited to discuss entrepreneurship and how he had realised the goal of ‘Being Himself for a Living’.  This workshop opened Zahra’s eyes to the attachment of the staff to their businesses, who were working to achieve the highest standards whilst still fostering their compassion, dedication and willingness to develop their communities. With this insight, Zahra was able to share her vision for the future of Hotel Formula 1, getting everybody on board to embark on this journey together, celebrating their teamwork and beginning to bridge the communication gap between the Support Office and the CC Managers.

This was where the team decided to begin a common project that they were all going to participate in: a book entitled, ‘Thriving! Running a Sustainable Business in the New Wave” this book was launched in September this year.

In this book, Zahra and her team share their experience of being working women. It comes to one conclusion about them: they are inspirational, full of energy and motivated - sensitive when there is a need for it, but objective when necessary.

Reflection
So, was it a good decision to move to South Africa? Oh, yes! It wasn’t easy at first. More than anything, Zahra missed her friends and family in Paris and around the world, who were always there for her and who she thanks, today, for still giving her such tremendous support. But here, through work, team members, business partners, goals and vision, she has found contentment, satisfaction, friends, colleagues, joy and growth. This is the right place and these are the right challenges to make her thrive.
For three years, Paris had been her consoler, and almost exactly one year after moving to South Africa, it was important for her to revisit the city, look at it with different eyes, love it as she has not done before, and thank it for what it has brought to her life.

After having spent one year in South Africa, Zahra has moved on, grown and finally feels ready to say goodbye to Paris and close the chapter of pain that she felt there. She has moved on to find a physical home in Johannesburg and a real home within herself. She is ready to live and feels alive!

Today, the new wave is carrying the Formula 1 team into the future. Today Zahra knows why she left the beautiful City of Lights.

Zahra we salute you!