It's Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast

Heather Balsley, Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer, IHG Hotels & Resorts, interviewed by Lan Elliott

• David Kong

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Heather shares how her love for solving big, complex problems has led her to spearhead transformative initiatives within IHG, and she describes how she navigates cross-functional, multi-year challenges.  She explains why having champions is critical the more senior you become, why public speaking is important, and how she crafts presentations that are both impactful and memorable.

Lan Elliott:

Hello and welcome to DEI Advisors. My name is Lan Elliott on behalf of DEI Advisors. And today I'm really thrilled to have Heather Balsley join us. She's the Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer for IHG Hotels and Resorts. And if you're not familiar with Heather's many accomplishments, I hope you'll go to our website where you can learn more about her. Welcome, Heather.

Heather Balsley:

Thanks, Lan. Great to be here. Thanks for having me.

Lan Elliott:

Thank you for making time. And I know you're traveling, you're in London. Thank you so much for jumping on remotely. And I know that we met when I joined IHG in 2013, and you've now been there for 17 years. We were talking about how you're now officially a hotelier after being in hospitality for a while. But every time I talk to you, you have a new role. It's always bigger than the last one. And you've just had an incredible career. Could you, so far I should say, so could you share some of the inflection points in your successful career? And if there were any factors that you think contributed to your success.

Heather Balsley:

Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Look, like I'm I think like many people I did not start my career in hospitality, but once I joined IHG, I fell in love with this business, our culture the impact that we have in the communities in which we operate honestly, the complexity of this business. And that's actually where, I've been so fortunate to have Had the opportunity to move across a number of different areas within IHG and just learn so much in doing it. And so for me, if I reflect on my career, those inflection points were moments of significant change. I actually, coming out of undergrad, I worked for a boutique management consultancy and it was, training ground. I thought that's what I would do for my career. And then after business school, I H G was my first client and I had this moment in my career and it was very important personally where one of my leaders, really pushed me to ask someone at IHG for a job. And I had never really put myself out on a limb like that. And it was one of those moments of fear, but then like phenomenal reward from taking a risk. And that was a really important moment for me that I reflect on a lot actually when I'm thinking about, Should I say this or should I ask for this? And that was really an important milestone for me. I'd say, a few of the others one was my very first brand role at IHG. I joined IHG in corporate strategy, always loved brands and marketing and the experiences that we create through those functions. And a mentor offered me a role that leading the holiday in brand family in the Americas region. And it was the first job that I had not done previously done the job of my team, if so there were people on my team who knew much more about hotels and marketing and branding. And it taught me how to lead in a very different way. It's like, how do you respect and enable the unique skills and competencies of your team. But add value in a different way. Bring your strengths to the table and really collaborate and lead through other leaders versus directing. So that was a really big milestone for me. And then honestly, the last one was my last role. Another one of those Take a leap moments where Keith Barr, who is the CEO, the previous CEO of IHG asked me to consider taking on responsibility for loyalty and partnerships. And it wasn't something that I saw in my career path. It wasn't something really that I had considered. And it was a, inflection point for me because it just taught me a whole different side of this business. And just, I've learned so much about, everything from the financial complexities of running a loyalty program and a co brand business all the way through to the end. technology systems that enable execution of our programs. And just built a very different and new network within I H G. And so it's something that it has really pushed me to think about leadership and talent development more broadly. Because I learned so much. I just didn't know what I didn't know and wish somebody had pushed me out of the nest a little sooner into a different function. So those are probably the three big inflection points. Your second question was around factors that contributed to that journey. Thank you. Honestly, one of them is definitely some amazing mentors leaders who believed in me before I really believed in myself and who encouraged me to take some of those leaps. For me those mentors have always been people who I actually was working very closely with at the time and who helped me think about what that next step should be. And so that was, a really important factor. And then for me personally, I'm just a really like intellectually curious person. I don't stay in my swim lanes and I do my best to share views and opinions without stepping on toes. But I actually think that, to your point that I've worked in different areas of the business and have moved around a decent amount. I think that's Because I'm always asking questions outside of my core function and trying to connect those dots. And that's something that I strive to do that I encourage in my team. And that I think has helped really drive my career. Yeah. And I guess I'd say the last thing because I'm a pretty driven person. I work hard. I I really love to have a big impact on the business. You have to take breaks and I'm pretty disciplined about, after a big deliverable or a big meeting, like Take a day or two and just take a breath. I'm pretty relentless about certain times of day or times of the week that I need to be with my family. And I did actually take time out from working for a bit of time when my, when daughters were young. And I'm really grateful that I took that time to recharge and reflect because I think that's what's kept me engaged and motivated through that. 17 year career at I. H. G.

Lan Elliott:

And I think there are so many amazing themes in what you talked about. I love the theme of being pushed out of the nest by your mentors and also your willingness to go into different areas of the business, not just staying in the area that you knew really well. I also think the idea of being put in a position where you're leading a team, but maybe other people have more technical knowledge about that particular area and learning to lead in a different way. I think that's really fascinating. And I think a lot of people would choose to stay in the area that they are comfortable in, stay in their lane and do their thing and hope to move up that way. But I see. that leaders keep putting you on some of the most challenging issues that IHG has had over time. And I've seen time and again, when there seems to be a big hurdle magically Heather ends up leading next. So I love the idea of you. Being open to those sorts of things. I definitely want to dive into that a little bit in a moment. But first I wanted to talk about continuous growth because that was a theme and what you just said, you mentioned curiosity and you mentioned about always learning new things. Is there a leadership skill that you wish you would have learned earlier? And if so, how did you end up developing that?

Heather Balsley:

Yes, definitely. So one, and I mentioned this, but I've learned so much when I did get that push to take a risk, move into a different function, do something different. I wished I wish I had taken a bit more self motivation to jump into new roles, pushed myself out of that comfort zone. And it actually was really striking for me this most recent shift when I mentioned I moved out of a brand role into loyalty. And it's not something I was going after necessarily. And it was my favorite job by far of any job I've had at IHG. And it's just was a really important reflection for me of the minute you're comfortable, it's time. It's time to start thinking about doing something different. It doesn't have to be bigger. It can be a lateral move, just like continuing to take those risks. So that's definitely a big one. Along the lines, though, of what it takes to be successful when you're jumping into something new. I've learned to listen. More than I talk and I still talk a lot. Like I, I tell my team, I'll come in hot, but that doesn't mean I don't want to debate and discuss. I just, I can't help myself. But I've learned to. Listen and like truly listen, invest in, like really listening to understand and reflect. And that's something that I think would have served me better early in my career. And is, helping me learn more quickly, I think now. And then that's probably connected to just more patients. I I can be a bit of an impatient person. And actually, my former boss really was an excellent coach on slow down, pick your battles. Be patient. You don't have to win this argument in this moment. There will be another conversation. And that is, something that I probably could have used a bit more of earlier in my career.

Lan Elliott:

Oh, really great advice. I love the idea of slowing down because I always remember you. Coming in hot, having your hair on fire, having a mission. We're going to get this done sooner than anyone thinks is humanly possible. Yeah.

Heather Balsley:

Yeah. I do I have a lot of energy and a lot of drive and what I've learned, and this is, whether it's like reading a room or just like the feedback that you get when someone's like a little bit more vulnerable and can tell you how they actually feel. I've just learned that can something that for me feels like positive energy for someone else can feel intimidating or threatening. And just making sure you're always reading the room. Really great advice. I'm going

Lan Elliott:

to touch on that again in a minute too. Let's shift over to approach to challenges because as I mentioned, you've had some of the most challenging roles, I think at IHG and It was one of the reasons that we got to work together a bit because we both spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to turn around crown plaza. And that is not a challenging role as I think most people, the industry know either to hang on to crown plazas for the brand or to really step change that brand in the perception of customers and owners. So you've had a lot of challenges that you've had to tackle. How do you approach a problem? How do you process it? How do you move through that?

Heather Balsley:

Yeah of it starts with kind of my, like I was trained as a management consultant, which means like you always start with what are the facts? What's the problem? And, any big like performance issue or broader issue in the business I do think it's really important to take the time to build the fact base to think through a problem and approach a problem from multiple perspectives, especially in hospitality, where Any issue is multifaceted with many different layers. You have different stakeholders, different perspectives, internal, external owners, operators, investors. And taking the time to ask those questions, listen to understand. And then for me personally while I love to collaborate and brainstorm, I always find like a big complex. I just need time to think and and so I am pretty deliberate about when I'm working through something important for the business complex blocking that time for me, I'm a morning person, so I'll block, Monday morning, Wednesday morning, Friday morning, just to go heads down and think so that's, that those are, that's some of how I start. What I try to. tackle with my team, though, are a few principles. One is big complex issues typically don't get tackled because teams get overwhelmed by how much has to get done and or we get bored because sometimes it takes 10 years. Like Crowne Plaza, that work that we started together. now probably 10 years ago. It is only really just in the last handful of years starting to come through in consistency, performance, signings, like all of the metrics that, make a brand. And What I've found works time and time again, because with those two dynamics is focused on the 80 20. What are the three to four things that are going to make the biggest difference and go big and hard against those things? Don't get distracted by all of the other little ideas. And what I've found works really well because everybody in the business will have all of their little pet ideas is make sure that the yeah, Company understands that it's a multi year road map. It's gonna it's not going to get done next year. It's not going to get done in five years. Build the road map because that one builds patience, but it also allows you to prioritize and say, Yep, we're gonna work on this stuff now because it's the best Biggest bang for the buck. I hear you on this issue or opportunity. We'll tackle that next year or the year after. That's how we tackled the loyalty relaunch at IHG. And it's really, I think, what helped us make progress. And we're still working on things that we identified. Now what three and a half years ago should be on our road map. But it wasn't the highest, most important thing. And then look, I guess the last big piece and I've learned how to do this over time is building followership that like no one's an island, like no one can drive change on their own. And so I do work really hard, whether it's how we, build collaboration and alignment with our partners within IHG. Any big initiative at IHG, we stand up and owner advisory board and really lean into our hotel owners to help support us. And frankly, tell us what's never going to work. It's. Best to hear it from them in a small group versus launching something and learning it that way. And I'm, deeply grateful for their time and that feedback. And then that helps build advocates across the business when you do want to do something big and market moving that you have a coalition behind you supporting the work. So those are probably the big things that tools that I've used with some of the big Transformation efforts that I've led over the years.

Lan Elliott:

Leaning on your management consultancy days, I love that identifying the problem, and I like the idea of the road map, especially when you're having to collaborate with a lot of people like we do in hospitality, it at least gives people a sense that you recognize some of their concerns and we are going to deal with it. But we're prioritizing these items right now. They're the most urgent, but we heard you and we are going to address those. And we have a plan for that as well.

Heather Balsley:

Exactly. Exactly. And look, and sometimes, there were there sometimes I can reflect on having made some of those like trade offs and said, I hear you will tackle that next or we'll tackle that next year. And then in retrospect, it's Oh, you were right. We probably should have tackled that sooner. But even acknowledging like mistakes like that, or, Ooh, I probably should have listened and moved that I think also brings people to a place of believing they're a part of the solution and trusting that you are listening and that you are committed to working together.

Lan Elliott:

I think just being vulnerable enough to say, Oh, you know what, that was important, that thing that you said and we're going to, we're going to focus on it and make it right.

Heather Balsley:

Definitely. Definitely.

Lan Elliott:

You had alluded to mentors and champions who have pushed you out of the nest or encouraged you into new roles over your career. Could you talk a little bit about how important it is to find mentors and champions in the business world? Because I think there are a lot of people that think if I'm just really good at my job, That's going to be enough. Yeah. But you also alluded to, you don't know what you don't know. So how important is it to have mentors and champions and how does one go about?

Heather Balsley:

Yeah so look like there's I think one of the biggest challenges and I, I get quite, I get this question a lot. In particular, like how do you go about finding them? I've never successfully found. a mentor or a champion who I wasn't working directly with or hadn't worked directly with. It's not to say that they can't exist, but at least for me there is a big personal investment in mentorship and I've always found it hard to connect and actually even like hard to really get find the time personally for others, if I'm honest, but also get the time from others to mentor and coach me if it's not just like a part of our every day. And so I have found that seeking out that mentorship within your kind of more of your everyday network. And then as you move on, staying connected to those that, that you built that's how I've built my network. And it's been essential for my career. Really for two reasons. One is what I said earlier, you just don't know what you don't know. Like the minute you think you're good, you're delivering, you're driving, it's Oh, somebody shares a perspective and it's you're right. Like I'm not in that room. I don't have that perspective. I haven't had that experience because none of us are perfect. And it's just been invaluable to me to have leaders share feedback and advice from their experiences that have helped me grow. The other is just about staying sane, honestly. And that's having someone who I trust that I can vent. Someone and look for me. I've worked mostly for male leaders. My former boss, Claire Bennett was the first female senior leader that I worked directly for. And that was very different in a very positive way because she mentored me not only as a female business leader, but also as a whole person. Someone who I can bounce ideas off of. Okay, how do I manage this challenge personally with my family professionally? How do you manage the perception of women in this particular, environment? And that was really valuable to me. So it's like a bit of a cliche. But, and I was skeptical, honestly, that I needed a female mentor, but she really was the first that I had. And it was very different for me having her friendship and mentorship than it was with male mentors who were fabulous also, and have, I'm deeply grateful for. It's just, a different perspective.

Lan Elliott:

Yeah. And I think it's great to think about mentors as. people who can fill different areas of your life, right? You can get advice on one thing from one mentor and maybe advice from a different mentor that you connect with in a different way and a different aspect of your life. And I love this idea of a patchwork of mentors that you can go to for different things based on what you need at that moment.

Heather Balsley:

Definitely. And look like, think about friends as mentors, family as mentors. Like it doesn't, Mentorship is not just about the professional. It's about your whole life. And and ultimately it's about seeking out people who have different experiences and perspectives to help you grow. That's such a good point. It's a look for people

Lan Elliott:

who are different from you.

Heather Balsley:

The other thing I will say is I probably earlier in my career did not appreciate how important within a big company, at least within a big company like I H G having champions is, which is a bit different than mentorship. And the more senior you become, the closer you are at a talent conversation, secession planning and yes, there's, formal processes, but the voice of a champion in a room who knows you and will advocate for you is really important too. And so being thoughtful about who are your champions, who will be your champions for that next role? That next opportunity is also, I think, really important, especially for women.

Lan Elliott:

Definitely. And I think just knowing who are the people who are in that room for that role that you want, right? Who's going to be in that room? Exactly. I wanted to stay on the topic of women in leadership that you had alluded to and talk about this assertiveness double bind, which is an issue for a lot of women, because it's this idea that you, if you're really nice, As a lot of people think women can be nice that maybe you're not strong enough to be a great leader. But on the other hand, if you're a woman who's very strong, it can also come across the wrong way. And people don't like that. And then it gets harder to get things done. And you and I share this idea of coming in hot a lot of times when we're passionate about something. How do you balance this with working with people and manage this double bind of not being too one way or to the other way?

Heather Balsley:

Yes. So I do not struggle with assertiveness for whatever reason. I struggle with, I've struggled over my career with the implications of that, of being perceived as Yeah. Aggressive sharp elbows pushing too hard. Being overly challenging. And I'll admit that it sometimes feels like there's like a pendulum swing of soften those elbows, but keep pushing or, and you get like mixed feedback. And there's a few things that I've learned. One Don't lose it. Not losing who I am. I'm not. staying true to your strengths and your views. And actually, when when I first started working for Ellie Maloof IHG's current CEO, when he was the CEO of the Americas, I shared with him, my development plan and that I've heard this feedback that I have sharp elbows. And he was like, no. He said, I want you on my leadership team because you have a point of view and you'll drive for results. And that really stuck with me because it was the first time actually in my career where the feedback wasn't soften those elbows. It was keep pushing, keep driving. But at the same time, other mentors have helped me with some of the themes I've mentioned earlier around and patience. And that's helped me learn. when to push, how to read a room and how to moderate my actions based on the audience and the situation. And it's interesting, and I'm sure you feel this as well, Lan, that we're all very good at it when we're, or at least I think most people naturally know how to moderate their style when you're like speaking with an owner or you're in a more challenging, like external conversation because the stakes are high. And you need to strike that balance between pushing, but, respecting the audience. I struggled with it more like internally when I actually had the relationships and knew the people and but I learned actually that was undermining my efficiency. Effectiveness by not treating those internal conversations with the same level of like respect as some of those external conversations. It does come down to, for me. not losing my voice, but having more patience investing in relationships. Because I have found that the stronger your relationships the more welcome a hefty pushes if you disagree. And so that's very important to me. But then I've also, I also coach and mentor a lot of women who have the opposite problem. And that's probably one of my most. difficult leadership challenges is mentoring and coaching someone who actually is having more challenges finding their voice. And it's more in that nice collaborative camp, but needs to be pushed to find like what one of a woman on my team calls it. Her challenger voice is like, how do I challenge and assert myself without losing who I am as a person? And that's really important to learn that the goal is not to be liked by everyone. It's to be respected. And sometimes that means having a difficult conversation in a way that is true to who you are as a person. So it's definitely a double bind. It's something that I didn't appreciate early in my career, but I've definitely seen later in my career, especially for women and, senior leadership positions.

Lan Elliott:

Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. That was really honest. And I appreciate your sharing that. I wanted to touch on public speaking because the first time I met you, I sought you out at a cocktail party. Yes. After I had seen you on the stage at the IHG owners meeting, and this was in front of thousands and thousands of people, and you were up on that stage on your own and you killed it. And I found you at the cocktail party and I was impressed with what you had done. And I honestly, and at that point in my career, I had not seen a lot of women. So I'd love if you could share a little bit about public speaking and It's importance in elevating one's career. And also, how do you go about developing this skill that I clearly saw on that stage? Do you get nervous? What do you do to get ready for those sorts of things?

Heather Balsley:

For whatever reason, I do not get nervous. I probably should, but I don't. But, and so that's I don't know. That's just maybe part of, I'm not sure why that, that muscle is not inside of me, but I tend to be relaxed in front of an audience, but I think that's because of preparation and there's a few things that Have a really I've been trained to do, but also that are important to me. Whether it's, you're standing in front of 6, 000 people or you're presenting to, a group of 10 with a very high stakes decision, or, it all comes down to impact and influence and respecting your audience. And when you really focus on who's your audience, what do you want them to take away? And what is important to them, you start to get really disciplined about what you're going to talk about. And so by starting with the audience and like respect for their time, their energy, their what, everything else that's happening in their lives. I begin with an outline, not a bunch of slides or starting to write a speech, like to really hone in on my messaging, the positioning. And even like the same topic, you could hear me present on that topic to five different groups and hear five very different positioning of the same theme in the same message because your objectives are different. The audience is different. So that's that's really important to me. Being careful not to tell them everything that you know, but tell them what they need to hear and what they need to understand. And that helps them to simplify a message. And stories help to to bring things to life. So I do try to to use stories to to reinforce a message or simplify a message.

Lan Elliott:

Stories really stuck. I remember you started that speech. It was 11 years ago. And I remember you started that speech with a story about your girls and it was the point of the speech launched from that story, but it was personal, but it was also entirely appropriate to what you were talking about. Yeah. You have to get people's,

Heather Balsley:

especially like when you're presenting in front of four or 5, 000 people, you have to get people's attention. They're sitting there seeing rotating heads up on a stage. You have to get their attention with something like fun and interesting using simple imagery and graphics to reinforce a message. In general, I hate being scripted. And so I do tend to hold the pen for myself on a presentation, because if I do that, I know what I want to say, and I can say it more naturally and authentically. But in those moments, like the owner's conference. We have to be scripted because there's, external implications. If you say something you're not supposed to say. And so I do practice a lot for those. Best tool ever is the teleprompter app on my iPad, which people don't know about, but it's amazing. It's like voice activated. And so it works as a teleprompter. Just repeat. So that by the time you're on that stage, you know your stuff and you feel natural and you're not nervous. There's that nervous energy, like the moment you go out there. But I do find that preparation takes that takes a lot of that nervousness away. And have fun. I think that's also part of it is if you're so scripted and serious about your topic, You're going to be boring. And so having a little bit of fun out there, telling a personal story trying to connect the dots in a relevant way is also, I think really important, but it is, it's public speaking. And more broadly, like the ability to have impact and influence with the group and how you communicate. It's a huge part of being, I think, successful as a business leader. There's nothing that frustrates me more when like I hear people like bemoan. Oh, all of the admin of I have to write a slide deck. It's actually, what you're trying to do is yeah. Drive for a productive conversation and an important business decision. And what's the best way of doing that? Tell a simple story, have your facts and put it in a simple narrative that people are going to understand. And so I do think it's it's really important.

Lan Elliott:

I love that you point out it is a, it's an important skill. If you want to continue to progress to be able to present, not just to thousands, but to do that and have impact in a small meeting as well. And I've seen you do that again and again. So thank you for sharing. Thank you. I suspected we would run short on time because I always love getting advice from you anytime that I can, and I appreciate you being here. Could you share perhaps one last piece of advice that you would have for our audience for people who are looking to advance their career? What would you share with them?

Heather Balsley:

I think one is Knowing your strengths and trying to crystallize what you're passionate about and don't limit that to I love marketing or I love brands. Think about what do you really love to do? For me, it's, I love to solve big, complex problems that are going to have a big impact on our business, on people, on our hotels, on our customer experiences. And. By defining that a little bit more broadly, I haven't been pigeonholed into a certain function, and frankly, it's just created opportunity. And that, and then has kept me motivated and engaged every day. Find, knowing your strengths and finding your passion points, I think is really important. Really cultivating mentors and a network. It's something actually that I regret in my career that I wish I had built sooner and invested in longer. Because those perspectives and that support network, I think, really is such an asset for any individual to continue to grow, but to also have a sounding board as you hit inevitable bumps in the road. And I guess the last thing is taking time for yourself. I talked about it earlier. We all need that time to, Reflect, recharge. We can't, you can't be always on. You're going to hit moments in your life that it's going to make sense to slow down. And that's okay. You'll get back into it. You'll find the next opportunity. And I'm really actually grateful that I did take time. out for a bit when my kids were young. It taught me that I did not want to stay at home full time with them. But I learned that for myself versus second guessing. And what I did do instead when I went back into the workforce was I worked on a, like a four day a week model. I was, I got a bit of a, like reduced schedule in a functional area that I probably stayed in a little bit longer than I otherwise would have, but I did because I had more control and Maybe it's, it slowed me down for that one next role, but not after that. And so having that like trust and confidence in yourself to take that time for yourself when you need it.

Lan Elliott:

I love that. Thank you so much, Heather, for all of that wonderful advice. That you've shared today. You've really been one of those leaders that I've admired for so many years. So I am thrilled to be able to have you on and have you share your wisdom with me and also with the audience. So thank you so much Heather. So

Heather Balsley:

good to see you. Take

Lan Elliott:

care. Nice to see you too. And for our audience, if you would like to see other great interviews with hospitality leaders, I hope you'll go to our website, DEIadvisors. org. Thank you.