The best way to learn leadership skills is to ‘step up, take control and make decisions,’ says McCarthy / photo: shutterstock/Myvisuals
One of the most rewarding parts of being older and a bit more established in my career is the opportunity to mentor others. In the past few years, I've taken on a number of mentees, some of whom I’ve coached from afar and others whom I’ve taken under my wing, working closely with them for an extended period.
Mentoring is not easy. It’s one thing to become successful in your own career, but to package and convey a lifetime of learning, experiences and wisdom into some usable nugget that can actually make a meaningful impact on someone’s life and career is its own art form and not one that I’ve mastered.
I often think the most important thing my mentees need to learn is the hardest thing for me to teach: leadership. People who are juniors in their careers today have access to incredible resources that I never had. They can easily learn about the industry by taking courses, reading blogs, watching YouTube videos, etc. They can learn how to read a P&L, how to write an SOP or how to give good customer service. But leadership is one of the most essential skills for a successful career and it’s hard to learn, hard to teach and not easily replaced by technology.
Trial and error When I think about how I learned leadership, the top answer that comes to mind is trial and error. I made lots of mistakes. They didn’t feel good. I made adjustments. Often, I overcorrected and made more mistakes. And gradually, over time, I established my own leadership style. But I never finished learning how to be a leader. I’m still learning from my mistakes to this day.
Role models The second way I learned is by working with people I admired. Inspiring leaders were role models, who pushed me to be the best I could and also gave me a template for what being a good leader looks like. I’ve worked with some amazing people and my approach to leadership is shaped by those who went before.
Learning by dislike The third way I learned is by working with people I didn’t like. The micromanagers, the tyrants and the soulless number crunchers. They were role models too, teaching me what didn’t work and what I didn’t want to become.
The leadership wisdom from these channels is hard-won. They take time and effort and more than a few lumps along the way. Sure, as a mentor I can try to help my mentees bypass some of the pain and duration necessary to learn these skills. I can try to bottle up the lessons I’ve learned into an easily digestible format, but they’ll sound like meaningless platitudes.
It’s not until the mentee tries them out in a real situation that they can see whether it fits them or not. The techniques that work are the ones that come from the heart of the leader. Authenticity is more important than the actions themselves.
So my advice to those who are early in their careers is simple: step up, take control and make decisions. Make decisions and mistakes. You won’t make good decisions at first. Making good decisions requires wisdom. Wisdom comes from experience. And experience comes from making bad decisions. So make bad decisions. Own your mistakes and learn from them. And maybe ... just maybe ... become a leader along the way.
Jeremy McCarthy has worked in the spa industry for 34 years. As group director of spa and wellness for Mandarin Oriental, he oversees spa, wellness and leisure operations at 35 luxury hotels globally. Contact him with your views on Twitter @jeremymcc
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2023 issue 2
Editor's letter: Feeling optimistic
Revenue is at an all-time high and democratic wellness is bubbling under. It’s an exciting time for spas, says Katie Barnes
Spa People: Taichi Kuma
The son of celebrated architect Kengo Kuma designs a striking shell-like sauna in Japan
Spa People: Ana Ramirez
On her plans to roll out Ancestral Handmade, her regenerative wellness hotel concept, across South America – starting in Colombia
Spa People: Daniel Golby
On ESPA Life's debut in Doha and the markets he has his eyes set on for future expansion
News report: Milestone moment
US spa industry revenue exceeds the US$20bn mark according to ISPA's latest Big Five statistics
Sponsored: MyBlend: A new vision of beauty
Clarins has elevated its myBlend brand with new tech and formulations, as well as forging powerful alliances with global spa partners
Sponsored: Gharieni: Mind expansion
With the quest for better mental health growing ever stronger in the wake of the global pandemic, we ask Gharieni CEO Sammy Gharieni how the company’s wellness technologies are helping spas to meet this consumer demand
Top team: Hilton
Sleep, fitness and new spa concepts are top of the list as Hilton looks to deliver wellness across its 7,000 properties
Thermal spa: The heat is on
With 50 hot springs projects underway, the US is looking to establish itself as a thermal spa destination. Jane Kitchen takes a closer look
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
The best way to learn leadership skills is to ‘step up, take control and make decisions,’ says McCarthy / photo: shutterstock/Myvisuals
One of the most rewarding parts of being older and a bit more established in my career is the opportunity to mentor others. In the past few years, I've taken on a number of mentees, some of whom I’ve coached from afar and others whom I’ve taken under my wing, working closely with them for an extended period.
Mentoring is not easy. It’s one thing to become successful in your own career, but to package and convey a lifetime of learning, experiences and wisdom into some usable nugget that can actually make a meaningful impact on someone’s life and career is its own art form and not one that I’ve mastered.
I often think the most important thing my mentees need to learn is the hardest thing for me to teach: leadership. People who are juniors in their careers today have access to incredible resources that I never had. They can easily learn about the industry by taking courses, reading blogs, watching YouTube videos, etc. They can learn how to read a P&L, how to write an SOP or how to give good customer service. But leadership is one of the most essential skills for a successful career and it’s hard to learn, hard to teach and not easily replaced by technology.
Trial and error When I think about how I learned leadership, the top answer that comes to mind is trial and error. I made lots of mistakes. They didn’t feel good. I made adjustments. Often, I overcorrected and made more mistakes. And gradually, over time, I established my own leadership style. But I never finished learning how to be a leader. I’m still learning from my mistakes to this day.
Role models The second way I learned is by working with people I admired. Inspiring leaders were role models, who pushed me to be the best I could and also gave me a template for what being a good leader looks like. I’ve worked with some amazing people and my approach to leadership is shaped by those who went before.
Learning by dislike The third way I learned is by working with people I didn’t like. The micromanagers, the tyrants and the soulless number crunchers. They were role models too, teaching me what didn’t work and what I didn’t want to become.
The leadership wisdom from these channels is hard-won. They take time and effort and more than a few lumps along the way. Sure, as a mentor I can try to help my mentees bypass some of the pain and duration necessary to learn these skills. I can try to bottle up the lessons I’ve learned into an easily digestible format, but they’ll sound like meaningless platitudes.
It’s not until the mentee tries them out in a real situation that they can see whether it fits them or not. The techniques that work are the ones that come from the heart of the leader. Authenticity is more important than the actions themselves.
So my advice to those who are early in their careers is simple: step up, take control and make decisions. Make decisions and mistakes. You won’t make good decisions at first. Making good decisions requires wisdom. Wisdom comes from experience. And experience comes from making bad decisions. So make bad decisions. Own your mistakes and learn from them. And maybe ... just maybe ... become a leader along the way.
Jeremy McCarthy has worked in the spa industry for 34 years. As group director of spa and wellness for Mandarin Oriental, he oversees spa, wellness and leisure operations at 35 luxury hotels globally. Contact him with your views on Twitter @jeremymcc
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2023 issue 2
Editor's letter: Feeling optimistic
Revenue is at an all-time high and democratic wellness is bubbling under. It’s an exciting time for spas, says Katie Barnes
Spa People: Taichi Kuma
The son of celebrated architect Kengo Kuma designs a striking shell-like sauna in Japan
Spa People: Ana Ramirez
On her plans to roll out Ancestral Handmade, her regenerative wellness hotel concept, across South America – starting in Colombia
Spa People: Daniel Golby
On ESPA Life's debut in Doha and the markets he has his eyes set on for future expansion
News report: Milestone moment
US spa industry revenue exceeds the US$20bn mark according to ISPA's latest Big Five statistics
Sponsored: MyBlend: A new vision of beauty
Clarins has elevated its myBlend brand with new tech and formulations, as well as forging powerful alliances with global spa partners
Sponsored: Gharieni: Mind expansion
With the quest for better mental health growing ever stronger in the wake of the global pandemic, we ask Gharieni CEO Sammy Gharieni how the company’s wellness technologies are helping spas to meet this consumer demand
Top team: Hilton
Sleep, fitness and new spa concepts are top of the list as Hilton looks to deliver wellness across its 7,000 properties
Thermal spa: The heat is on
With 50 hot springs projects underway, the US is looking to establish itself as a thermal spa destination. Jane Kitchen takes a closer look
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
