The WICS Model of Leadership: Theory and Application in Hotel Management

The broadened and diversifying global market at great pace led to the increasing demand for hospitality business and in particular for hotel industry and hotel managements; globalization changes their business environment into fierce battlefield. In order to win the war hotel firms need to acquire effective leadership, probably more the ever in their long history. Since nineteenth century, a dozen of leadership theories and models had been proposed, and none of them was able to totally capture all of the many facts-both internal and external to the individual?that make for a successful leader. Relatively recently, Steinberg's WICS model drew much attention; it offered a fresh view on old problems, being designed to provide the integrative approach based upon the notion that a successful leader needs the critical ability to synthesize wisdom, intelligence, and creativity. If any of the traits mentioned would be lacking, according to this model, the leader will fall into the category of those who failed in his mission. The paper discusses the theoretical and empirical ameliorations provided by Steinberg's model, its ambiguities, as well as practical applications for hotel management.