Matt Heller is the Founder of Performance Optimist Consulting, and his focus is on “helping leaders lead” to maximize employee engagement and retention. When you emphasize training and developing your employees, you can save ample costs on turnover and hiring, and at the same time enhance the guest experience. Matt shares specific examples on what happens to the guest experience when employees exude both competence and confidence, and why training should be stretched out over time, versus the figurative approach of “drinking from a fire hose.” Also in this interview, Matt talks about how employees can enforce policies or take on guests’ questions, even if they don’t know the answers, but that it’s the responsibility of leadership to give employees the tools and resources to do exactly that. Lastly, Matt’s message of “be human, be kind” is a great lesson in leadership, guest experience, and life.