Bringing Wonder Back to Work | Leadership, Culture & Service with Peter Merritt

Today's episode is all about wonder. The kind of wonder that lifts a team spirit, transforms service into something truly unforgettable and reminds us why leadership is a privilege. Because let's face it, right now, too many organizations are flat. They're busy, they're tired, teams are overwhelmed, Customers are feeling it, leaders are feeling it as well. The spark has disappeared, if you will. Not because people don't care, but because wonder has quietly slipped out the back door. Today's guest, Peter Merritt, is here to put wonder back into the workplace. And he's going to show us how to reignite culture, service, leadership and connection not with budgets, but with heart. Now, Peter is Australia's 2024 keynote speaker of the year, the founder of House of Wonderful, and one of the world's most influential voices in human spirited culture and world class service. His book Wonderlicious has already become a reference point for modern hospitality driven leadership. So if you're a leader who wants stronger engagement, if you're in customer or employee experience and you want people to feel something again, if you want a workplace that feels alive, connected and proud, then today's conversation is your reset button. This is Chats with Jason. I'm your host, Jason Espretchel. Peter, you've bought Wonder to hotels, skyscrapers, workplaces and countless leaders. Can't wait to dive in. Welcome to the show.

Thank you, Jason. Very excited to be with you today.

Absolutely. A great pleasure that you're joining us. And I know that we've got some great conversation ahead of us, so let's dive in. What do you mean about bringing wonder back to life in leadership and service? And not only what do you mean by it, but when did you first realize that wonder was your calling and just not a nice idea?

Quite simply, our sense of wonder, this isn't anything new or this isn't anything, a recreation of anything. This is something that each and every one of us were all born with. We all arrived into the world with a sense of wonder, which is, if anything, all we ever knew. And sometimes when you think, when we go through our teenage years and then into our adult years, our sense of wonder can fall away. And sometimes we can think that it's reserved for the little people. But if anything, on reflection, I realized through my time in hotels, wonder was the one thing more than anything that was encouraged more than anything else to see the unusual, to be curious. And I realized that I saw the business results of it from how people felt earlier in my hospitality career, I noticed the curiosity. And when people feel Genuinely seen, welcomed, and appreciated. Everything always changes. The energy, loyalty, performance, even profitability. But I've realized that wonder isn't and never will be just the fluffy stuff it was for us. It was functional. And I think that was the moment when everything just stopped for me from something that was not just a nice idea, but it became a responsibility. And I suppose what I mean by that is where feelings drive behavior, behavior, drive, drives results, then wonder, or a sense of wonder, isn't optional. It's leadership.

So I'm wondering, you know, you've mentioned your early, early career, as in luxury hotels. I'm wondering what lesson from that world still guides you every single day?

Oh, my goodness. I mean, there are several. It's interesting that 24 years have passed since I left hotels, but hotels have never left me. And I think the biggest thing that drives my heart each and every day is that we're only as good as the moment that we're in. We're only good as the moment when someone first encounters you. So, on reflection, in kitchens and in hotels, we learned that the magic didn't start that a guest arrived into their suite or the luxury of their room. It started at the front door. So, Bachi, being entirely in the moment, entirely in the present, right down to how we greet someone, how present we are, whether we feel rushed or whether we feel welcoming. So I suppose the biggest lesson that guides me right to this day, every single day, is never underestimating the power of small moments. Done with heart. So if anything, I suppose I know artificial intelligence is something that is continuously mentioned, and I love to just flip the letter A with the letter H and flipping that into remembering our human intelligence. So being firmly in the present, but a little bit more than that is being fascinated with the detail. So if I was to wrap up this question into just two single words, I would share what was our secret code that we practiced in hotels? That it was the two words, what else? What else can we do? Whether it's a little tweak, an enhancement, an improvement, but with anything and everything, whether it's a guest interaction or a customer service experience or working with a colleague, is continuously challenging ourselves with the two words, what else? And as I say, this was our secret code. It's what we lived by each and every day, where we were always restless with anything ordinary. So the beauty of what else is that it's something that anybody can put into practice immediately, and it doesn't need a big, complicated instruction manual for this or a big, complicated explanation, but just being curious with those two magic words.

1.

What else?

I really, really love how it forces you to be curious that question, what else? What next? Because so often we get stuck in the rut of doing things the same way. And of course, if you're asking yourself what else, well, you should be able to pull yourself out of that rut. You've spoken about feelings, driving behaviors, and you've often said that culture is a feeling, not a framework. What's the question? Quickest way that leaders can uplift the emotional energy of their teams.

A practice that we played with continuously in hotels was walking the floor, out on the floor, visible, visual, with everybody and anybody around, but not just walking the floor, but meaning it. So walking the floor not with a clipboard, not with an agenda, but with curiosity. The simplicity of using people's names, the simplicity of thanking people specifically, just asking people questions, but then listening to their answers. So emotional energy always lifts the fastest when people feel noticed, not managed. If I was to condense this entire question down into one single word, it would be the word appreciation. Not as nice to have not as a special occasion word, but as an every moment word. Doing whatever it takes to make people absolutely without hesitation know that they are appreciated.

I like the call out that you did as well around just noticing people. How easy it for us to be so busy in our busyness, our tasks, but actually lifting out from that and noticing people which then leads you to be able to appreciate them and recognize their efforts. You've worked with all organizations across the globe thinking about those organization. What separates workplaces that feel truly magnetic from those that feel just heavy and a challenge.

I can feel the heaviness as you use the word heavy and some are really heavy. And I think it's a very simple answer that I'd love to share with this is those that are light and are bright and just feel refreshing are the ones that are entirely in the moment of now. And the heavy ones are often the culture that are continuously distracted and focused with everything that's coming up next. So the constant look for what's happening tomorrow, next month, all of the things that are coming up in the future but missing the moment right now. And it's something that we balanced. If you take your left foot and your right foot would have our left foot and keeping an eye on what was coming up in the future. Hoteliers are masterful at keeping an eye on the future, but our right foot was entirely in the moment of now. And inside of that is it was down to us to share our permission with everybody. And this is where magnetic cultures come from. When people are given the permission to care, the permission to bring their personality, the sense and permission to make small human decisions without any kind of fear at all. So the heavy ones, the heavy cultures are bound by rules, they're compliance driven and they're emotionally tight. But the ones that feel alive have just got that sense of permission for people to just. To be.

To be themselves, to bring their whole selves to be.

Yeah, and not just encouraged, but celebrated. People know that they can be themselves. They know they can try and be creative and try new things and be curious in doing so. But celebrated. Not just. Not just one off little bursts of creativity every now and again, just each and every moment of every day. And this just causes things to feel light and to feel bright and just a lot of fun as well, to be part of when you can bring your full self to your task or to your role.

Your Revive and Shine experience back last November created some huge momentum. I'm wondering, what did that event reveal to you about what teams are craving for right now?

Yeah, this was a really special moment, Jason putting on Revive and Shine. We did this with Doug Lipp, who's the former head of training at Disney University from the Walt Disney Studios. And we put on a full day where we tweaked and changed a lot of the things in the way we expressed ourselves. So say, for example, for the entire day at Revive and Shine, there was no agenda. We served a feast. So we prepared a menu and we welcomed everybody as guests, not delegates. So we created this environment that just felt very warm and welcoming. But the biggest thing on reflection now was the realization of how much people are craving to feel human again. Not corporate, not transactional, but just that with that sense of belonging. So Revive and Shine worked because it wasn't a conference, it was a gathering. It was wonderful to watch how everybody responded. There were tears, there was laughter, there was a real depth of connection. If anything, it told us that people don't want more information. They just want to feel something again.

Makes a lot of sense. Because there's one thing that we're not short of these days is information. And it can be overwhelming notwithstanding that people don't want more information. In fact, I think most times people have all the information they need, but they need to understand how to transform that information into action. You teach best in class service without big budgets. I'm wondering what is one practical example any team could perhaps start using this week to start delivering a better experience or move towards Delivering a best in class experience.

The word that comes to mind is the word rituals, and I use that with real intention. The simplicity of rituals, it could be as simple as creating a moment of arrival ritual, whether this is for your customers, your clients, guests, team members, colleagues, whoever it is, but just that sense of arrival ritual. The way down to the smallest detail of how we greet people when they walk into a room or walk through the door or step up to the counter, down to the simplicity of starting meetings by genuinely welcoming people rather than opening an agenda. Actually just setting the tone with the sense of welcome, but the simplicity of just acknowledging people's effort, it costs nothing, but it will always change everything. Wrapping all of this kind of sentiment up into the spirit of personalization, really good at noticing the little things about people. It was our daily ritual, the way we spent looking at and reviewing our arrivals list for our guests, if someone was coming to us for their second stay or it was someone's wedding anniversary or whatever it might be, it was just the level of precision behind our personalization. And I suppose part of this answer, Jason, is that this isn't extravagance at all. This isn't big, fancy, expensive things. These are just small, little intentional touches. So moment of arrival rituals is the one thing that I would say anybody can put into practice straight away this week, today, right now, and being intentional.

Around what, why they're doing whatever they've chosen. You've spoken a lot about being in the moment, paying attention to the small details. It makes me ask this question, what's the smallest act that's created the biggest business impact that you've seen?

And I say this without hesitation, that gratitude isn't soft, it's strategic. Seeing each other and doing whatever it takes to share that sense of gratitude. And one reflection in hotels, this was something that we always noticed. The impact of how engagement would always rise, or customer intention would always stay consistent, or customer feedback would be warmly shared. So it can be as simple as a handwritten note or whatever it is. Two of the most powerful words in the English language since the dawn of time are the two words thank you. But something that we were taught in hotels, Jason, is that we must never say thank you to someone unless we can actually show it, and that it comes with absolute sincerity and that we mean it. But two of the most powerful words that we can use in business, in organisations, across cultures, in the spirit of how we share those two words, thank you.

So what holds back people showing their gratitude that often?

Maybe we can think that it isn't necessary or our very serious world has an extremely clever way of distracting us from things like this, where we can get around to it later or it doesn't matter or I'll do it tomorrow. But the more we can make it our default way. Sometimes you can hear people say people here just they're here to do a job. And it's more than that. It's more than that. Where thanks shouldn't be held for the weekly town hall or the monthly company gathering or the end of year team drinks to say thank you to people. So time is often we can say is a distraction. But it's probably the greatest one of the greatest superpowers of modern leadership that is desperately needed more than anything right now.

Yeah, couldn't agree more. In your book Wonderlicious, you share recipes for service. I'm wondering what's one recipe you believe every organization should start with?

Gosh, that's a tough question. And I suppose the reason that I published a book with recipes, not chapters, is that I wanted them to be user friendly and that the beauty of any recipe is that you can turn it into your own adventure. And there is a whole section on heart led leadership, a whole section of the book with two or three recipes that go deep, deep into the expression of sharing our heart and sharing our gratitude. So it would be one of the recipes I would say is a good place to start with the spirit of appreciation.

And if people want to get a copy of your book, how can they do that?

Wonderliciousbook.com will take you to all of the places, whether it's through an online retailer or any direct orders that with copies directly from me that I can personalize as well. But onedeliciousbook.com fantastic.

We'll be sure to put that link in the show. Notes. You talk about role model leadership. What's the difference between a leader who manages performance and a leader who lifts people?

I believe that managers are often really good at watching the outcomes, watching the KPIs, watching the metrics. It's something that on reflection, I've had the I feel extremely fortunate. Some of the leaders that I've worked for and worked with in my career where they were masterful at watching feelings. So being entirely in tune with noticing people. From my first general manager at the start of my career, and this goes back 35 years, but I realized that a lot of the lessons that I observed and I learnt from him have not only guided me to who I am today, but still absolute role model examples and behavior from him that I still practice to this day. And I suppose part of this thinking about your question here is that people don't rise to KPIs. People rise to belief that they belong, that they, that what they do matters. So the biggest difference, and if anything, it's almost like when you sit around the table at family dinner where you can notice how people are, you can notice how your family are. And it's the same when we sit around the table of the weekly team meeting noticing if people look like they're struggling or they're under pressure or something isn't quite right. So watching for feelings and being entirely connected with it, not as a weakness or thinking, that's soft, but it's actually real, seeing people where they are.

So you've probably had a moment or a few where you've seen a leader transform a team simply by changing how they made people feel, feel. Can you share an example of that with us?

My mind immediately goes back to my general manager from 35 years ago. Just breathtaking every single day, how he would stop every morning to greet the team members of the team by their name. And this was the healthiest, happiest working environment that I've been part of through my career where everybody just was, was at ease because of the sense and the feeling that they had from his leadership. So if anything, I suppose what I'm trying to say here is that this was transformational leadership. But it didn't come from strategy, it came from his presence. Everybody clearly knew what we were doing, what our values were and what our beliefs should be, but it came from his presence. One of the most senior, busiest people in the entire operation. But he was wholeheartedly there every moment of the day.

And so would you say that showing up, being present is something that many leaders overlook and that's why perhaps they're not creating magnetic organizations.

Yeah, it's something that just can change everything, but equally it's something that can suffocate everything. It's human instinct. It's intuitive for us to follow people and to follow the vibe, follow the mood, follow the sentiment, follow the permission, whatever it might be. It just gives people a really clear indication of that everything's okay or isn't closed, the meeting isn't awkward, the encouragement is free falling. It's just layer after layer of positivity that shapes absolute magic to happen not just internally across an employee culture, but it will always ripple out to guests. And it's the one thing that will always create incredible loyalty more than anything.

So If a leader's listening today and they want to reignite pride and connection across their workplace, where should they start?

A little four word phrase I love playing with, and we played with it in hotels and through my latter career as well, is I'd say, put your phone down. And what I mean by that is put your phone down, look someone in the eye, say thank you like you mean it. And stepping deeply into the word wonder. Wonder doesn't start with just a strategy. It starts with presence. So put your phone down is. I'm being quite playful as you can gather with my answer here, but when people know that you're there, this is what creates the depth of connection. This is what creates environments where people can feel proud of belonging in because everybody's just incredibly connected, you know, I.

Know, bit tongue in cheek, putting the phone down, but it does help us be less distracted if we're not, if we're not holding, if we're not looking at it. I'm wondering beyond some of what you shared with us already, what's a piece of advice that, that you would share to that leader who truly, you know, he or she understands what you've said to us today, shared with us today. They want to be more present, they want to up for their people. They're not the CEO, they're not the boss. How can they still start to create this culture of wonder, this magnetic environment where people want to turn up and stay? How do you respond to that leader who says, all this is great, I want to do it, but I'm not the CEO.

This is something for everybody at any level. And we would always watch all of the different people across a team. Whether it was in hotels or in my latter career in commercial real estate, where you watch people become superstars, there'll be different people doing amazing things in different departments or different areas of a business. And when we actually start, acknowledge that, recognize that, make examples of that, it's something that continues to spread across everybody. So whether it's the CEO or, or at the next layer down or right at the ground floor, like even down to some of the most junior positions, is watching these moments of magic that come alive and that are happening and just encourage more of it. But it's something that we were always encouraged never to wait for someone more senior than us or above us to take the first step. When you have an open culture where things like this are celebrated, it spirals and it amplifies and it just keeps growing across everybody. If anything, I condensed this down into two little words. Which is something that we were masterful at, which was baby steps. Everything that we did, even though if we were running a five star luxury hotel, this wasn't one big extravagant thing that we would do once a month. It was a series of baby steps that we took every single day. Could be as simple, Jason, as the morning team huddle. As I said, even though 24 or something years have passed since I left hotels, gosh, I still to this day miss the morning team huddle. And this was 15 minutes. This was one of the greatest rituals that we did. But this is something that any leader who's listening to this, any leader at any level can implement immediately. And it's interesting how I often hear when I suggest this with different organizations, the frequent response I get is, we haven't got time for this because we were already busy enough because everybody's sat at their desks doing their emails or whatever it might be. The magic of what we created in hotels came from that morning team huddle. If we a choir, it was our singing practice. If we were an orchestra, it was our final rehearsal. It was just a moment where it brought everybody together. And it's. I'm just fascinated walking into different businesses today. If I'm mystery shopping or some of my undercover work, I often walk into organizations at the start of a day and it is silent apart from the sound of people's keyboards clicking. But there's been no moment that brings everybody together at the start of the day before we walk out and actually walk onto stage, as we would say in hotels. So the team huddle would be something that I would. I can't recommend more highly enough to anybody in any industry, in any sector.

What a fantastic tip to leave the show on. Peter, thank you very much for your time today.

Absolute pleasure.

Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

Jason, you've reminded us that wonder isn't a luxury. It's a leadership tool, a culture catalyst, if you will, and a business advantage hiding in plain sight. Absolutely appreciate and encourage organizations to take on board what you've heard today. And if you're not already, start a huddle with your team. Bring alignment back to what it is that you're doing each day and take a moment to really be present and recognize the efforts of your team members. Peter, you've also shown us how small acts can transform teams and how language can lift performance and how heart led service can change the trajectory of a brand to our listeners. Take just one idea from today and bring it to your team, bring it to your customers and bring a little bit more wonder back to the world that you lead. Until next time, keep leading with clarity, courage and wonder. And remember, when you transform the experience, you transform the world around you. Hey, just quickly wanted to reach out and say thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode of Chats with Jason. I'd really appreciate a five star review on your favorite podcasting app. Or if you're watching along on YouTube, give me a thumbs up and show that you like this video. And be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss out on the awesome content and the great guests that we've got coming up for you.