Female Leaders - IWD2022 - Myriam Kournaf Lambert

Myriam Kournaf Lambert has brought to 2LCollection more than 20 years of experience in the luxury hotel industry. She began her career at the Four Seasons in Atlanta. She then worked in all the Room Division Departments at Le Martinez, (Cannes). She moved back to the USA for a year to be the VP of the Boutique Search Firm, based in Los Angeles. From 1998 to 2003, she joined Le Meridien (Starwood) as Director of Sales & Marketing then became Director of Operations three years later with a strong focus on F&B and Beach Management in that 175 room resort. In 2003, Myriam was appointed General Manager of the Hotel and Beach Beau Rivage in Nice, her home town. From 2005 to early 2015, she managed the elegant Hotel Montalembert in Paris Left Bank. As the Managing Director of The Coppola Family Hideaways, Myriam has led strategy for the 4 high-end properties owned by Francis Ford Coppola (Central America and Italy) for 3 years.

She joined 2LCollection in 2018 and has been building synergy to this family owned French luxury collection. She focuses on training her teams, bringing them to excellence to provide the level of service she is proud to be implementing in the properties she manages. ‘Personalisation is key in the 2022 hospitality world both on a client and co-workers perspective.  Bottom-line achievement is important but it has to go along with our teams being happy to be part of the adventure’

Myriam is an IWFF Member (she was part of the committee when it was first created in France) and IWFF are strongly involved in women’s cause 

What does IWD mean to you? 

Funnily enough, when I consider the 8 of March as International Woman Day, I think similarly to Mother’s day. By that I mean that although it should not be every day, it should also not just be one day in the year that – as an exaggerated example – ‘you take your mother to the restaurant and offer her flowers (just because it is mother’s day) and then forget to call her the rest of the year’. For example, I appreciate that COREcruitment celebrates International Women Month across the whole of March with various activities. 

Whilst the talk about inequality, feminism, inclusion and diversity is happening a lot more, it is also important to realise the situation of women in a global sense, not just in companies or the business world. 

It is a good thing that this day – 8 March – exists to continue raising awareness and recognition of female leaders, inspirations and women in top positions, it is also important to mention that in the World, some women are still not allowed to vote, are not freely able to chose a career or even get an education. March gives us the opportunity to raise awareness and to understand there still are issues to be resolved 

Why haven't we achieved equality, despite legislation in place regarding pay? 

Since I have not looked at the actual figures, I do not want to give any wrong information. However, I do know that in the past the pay gap in France was averaging up to 20% difference. I also know that in France we have worked a lot on this issue, people (and companies) are being careful and made a lot of effort to bridge the gap. In hospitality we have a salary grid that ensure employees per level, departments are considered equally. 

In the companies have been working in the past and at 2LCollection, parity is one of the priorities and this is a subject we are being very cautious about. For example, our recruitment is done on ‘skills, experience and culture fit’, regardless of the gender for any position we are looking into. 

How would you advise young women leaders on how to build confidence in their ability as a manager and leader? 

Although I know we are doing this for IWM; I would not consider gender when it comes to giving advice. On some level, men and women are the same – both can need a boost of confidence once in a while. 

My advice, specifically for our sector of Hospitality: Passion is key. We are working many hours (from operation to executive side); you have to be committed to your job to make it. You need to do your job with your heart, be genuine.

It is important to set up a goal. Mine, when I was much younger was to become a Hotel General Manager, I worked hard to achieve it. Once I reached that level, I continued moving up the ladder and now I am the Managing Director of a growing luxury hotel collection in France. 

I always say to my team; there is no ‘I’ only “We”. I cannot achieve everything on my own. The result of the company is dependent on the team's actions and activities. When you receive comments from a guest, it is important to recognise everyone (not neglect a division over another), share the good and the bad together and take action to be better together. I feel it is a strength to do so. Without the team, nothing can be achieved. 

Also, I do not see people leaving as a bad thing, rather it needs to be celebrated when a colleague that worked with me feels ready to move onto a new challenge. It means he/she has acquired new skills, has grown within my team and will carry on growing in their own profession through a promotion or a career move.

I always tell the talented and outstanding people that I worked with and moving on ‘I know we we will work again together sometime, somewhere’. 

As a last piece of advice: be careful how you leave your current job/employer. Always finish on a good note, don’t try to rush out and keep giving your best until your last day. Values and ethics are really important factors, both in life and in the professional world. 

What initiatives should companies invest in to promote women in leadership and an inclusive workplace? 

I cannot speak from another company perspective but here at 2LCollection we believe in equal standing when it comes to internal development and promotion opportunities. It is actually an important part of our company culture ‘grow from within’ and we look at skills and experience regardless of gender. 

With that in mind, we have initiated ‘Best Practices Sharing” program – specifically across the 3 luxury 5* hotels that we have (Hôtel Le Cinq Codet in Paris, Fonscolombe in Aix-en-Provence and Chateau d’Andrieu in Normandy). In that program we invite our new starters (especially in leadership roles) to go in the other properties and see how things are run (also helps to get to know the property and is great for cross-selling in the future). We have also been increasingly doing that at other levels (volunteer temporary transfer) to share best practices, learn from different seniors, etc. That has allowed developing our team culture and morals. We are a human-size company and it is important to know each other across the different properties. 

As a leader of a quite ‘small team (250 people)’, I emphasize the ‘human’ at the centre of our strategy as a company. It is really important to remember colleagues are human and not numbers. In the end, the team is at the forefront of clients interaction and a happy team equals happy clients and vice-versa. 

Also, even more since the Pandemic, the work-life vs private life has become more important. It feels that people need more caring and loving, it is important to respect that they have a life too. 

Is there a particular leader / figure you look up to? 

It is hard to pick one in particular, there are so many people that you can admire. Truthfully, when I was young and in my early career, my mentors and seniors were mostly male. When I started in hospitality some 20 or so years ago, it was still, in France, a male-dominated sector. 

Whilst there are many that come to mind that helped me grow, I would like to more specifically mention that when I was younger, I was really impressed by women in powerful positions in large companies. At the time, it felt like a ‘victory’ for women to be at the top of their field and these companies.

Right now, I really admire women who can take a moment in their busy work and personal life to be philanthropic and give time to charity and/or volunteer. I would love to do that one day. 

What advice will you give to your younger self?

I am at a point of my career I am able to reflect a bit and whilst I would not say I did everything perfectly (laugh), I can still say that every step was necessary. So to my younger self I would say: ‘do what you have done; believe in hard work; keep your energy up. Be yourself and be genuine in what you do/who you are. Believe in people’. Passion is a real drive. Build more confidence in yourself, which was not easy for me! I remember stressing over ‘am I going to reach that goal?’ At that point my mother (one of my mentors if not my mentor!) would say ‘be more confident in yourself. Keep learning all the time. Surround yourself with the right people’.