Tales from the pass: Marg Main - Turning Tables

Marg Main brings decades of hospitality expertise to the conversation, from her early hotel days to owning a restaurant in New Zealand. Now the founder of Turning Tables training company and her latest venture, Conversations That Matter, Marg specialises in creating meaningful workplace dialogue and empowering hospitality professionals. In this episode, Marg shares the essential skills that make hospitality leaders successful: reading body language, creating genuine connections, and using humour to build atmosphere. She dives deep into emotional intelligence, communication styles, and the systems every business owner needs to manage teams effectively and handle challenging customer situations. Marg also explores the human side of leadership - managing personal triggers, the importance of post-shift debriefs, knowing when to apologize, and supporting your team without micromanaging. Her insights on work-life balance and compassionate leadership offer valuable lessons for anyone managing people in high-stress environments. A engaging conversation packed with practical wisdom for hospitality professionals and leaders alike.   The Restaurant Association is the link between good food, and good business. It supports New Zealand's diverse and creative hospitality businesses to deliver first-class experiences to diners. Since its humble beginnings in 1972, it has worked to offer advice, help and assistance in every facet of the vibrant and diverse hospitality industry. The organisation now represents, advocates and cheerleads for more than 2500 hospitality businesses within New Zealand. It offers advice and assistance on key industry issues, from property lease advice to wellness in the workplace. The Association also provides its members with industry-wide accreditation programs which set best practice standards and help them measure how they're tracking. It also works in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development to deliver the Hospostart and Springboard training programmes.