Providing leadership and support for any team within the hospitality industry takes patience and creativity. This aspect of leadership for Patsy-Mae Hendfield, assistant bar manager at Beaches Turks and Caicos (BTC) is something that she was built to do.
Having had the opportunity of being mentored by leaders in the industry, Patsy-Mae has been empowered to groom others in the field. Her mission t was built on her exposure to training and development, mentorship, and support for team members and their families.
Her incredible journey started in 1997 when she joined Beaches Turks and Caicos in the stewarding department. With the opportunities for growth and training in different areas, Hendfield who had been involved in training in the bar department, was asked to serve on a training cohort at another resort for a short period. Upon her return to BTC, she was promoted to a bartender.
Her training continued, as she excelled in the many courses that were made available through the Sandals Corporate University (SCU) which saw her climbing the career ladder to supervisor and currently assistant manager. These programme offerings she shared were achieved primarily due to the mentorship and guidance from her mentor and former bar manager, Sam Hall.
“Mr Hall was the major driver for my professional development as he was able to identify in me the potential to grow within the industry and empowered me along with others to achieve our fullest potential. The leadership that he has shown to me is what I try to emulate for my team. This training has given me the career push that I needed to achieve financial stability for my family,” Hendfield noted.
Bar Manager Uton Graham, in describing Patsy-Mae shared, “she is the gem of the team. She is the one who is able to motivate and mobilize the team to achieve the challenging tasks. The supervisors within the department find it easy to share with her as she creates open and interactive channels of communication for team members and guests. She is meticulous and a team trainer which provides an opportunity for our department to always be on a developmental path with the many training programmes and certificate courses that are offered.”
While identifying the strength of his team, General Manager James McAnally shared, “Patsy-Mae depicts leadership in all that she does especially with the younger team members. She has an open door policy and is one of the main trainers within her department. She is patient and thorough in how she carries out her assigned duties and still finds time to be an active ambassador for Sandals Foundation activities.”
One of her mentees within the department, bartender Kirkwood Cox, shared, “Ms Patsy always encourages us to challenge ourselves to become better professionals. For me, I have tasked myself with completing a new course each week, and I am seeing where these training sessions have made me a better professional.”
The mother of five acknowledges her family as her biggest supporters and shares her family time with her children and four grandchildren. When asked what advice she would give to new team members entering the profession she added, “This is the best resort that any new professional in the industry would want to start a career. The training opportunities that are available for all our team members are endless and therefore, team members have the opportunity to excel in their preferred areas. I’m grateful for the learning and development department leaders who will assist in empowering us to rise above the norm and become more qualified.”