WHEN baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs said “a positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It’s a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results”, he may very well have been referring to Sandals South Coast Red Lane Spa Manager Tamika Robb-Scott.

Robb-Scott’s infectious joy effortlessly lightens the room and creates a ripple effect of hope and positivity wherever she goes.

Since arriving at Sandals South Coast in February 2005, this quintessential go-getter has led her team to consistently surpass monthly targets and achieve unprecedented numbers.

But how does she do it? Robb-Scott’s accomplishments are not by chance but by design. “To become the best version of yourself, you have to do the work,” she says. “You have to surround yourself with those who nourish your soul and find fertile ground from which your seeds can blossom.”

For almost two decades, Sandals and the Red Lane Spa division have been that fertile ground for Robb-Scott.

“I’ve always been fascinated with cosmetics, beauty and glamour, so I think it’s natural that I would have chosen this career,” she notes. She worked in customer service, even while training as a spa therapist and beauty technician. It was while working as a concessionaire at Sandals Negril that Robb-Scott became more intimately acquainted with the hospitality industry.

In December 2003, Robb-Scott said goodbye to her concessionaire job and joined the Beaches Negril team as a private branch eXchange (PBX) operator and then front office agent. While these positions provided the experience that she desired, her first true love for beauty and wellness shouted from her resume. So much so that the human resources manager thought she would be a great candidate for the [then] Ultra Spa that was being constructed at the time at Beaches Negril.

“But following a turn of events I ended up joining the newly formed Red Lane Spa discovery team at Sandals Whitehouse, now Sandals South Coast.”

Before she became a spa manager, Robb-Scott worked as a receptionist and supervisor within the Red Lane Spa. This move changed the trajectory of her career.

“I always wanted to be a spa therapist, but then I fell in love with the operational side of the business, what happened behind the scenes to create that ‘magic’,” she said. With that paradigm shift, she became more engrossed in the idea of leading a team.

Over the years, Robb-Scott has worked with various teams at Sandals and Beaches resorts across the Caribbean region. She has also promoted the brands at numerous spa travel trade shows across the United States.

Sandals has provided Robb-Scott with countless opportunities to dream big through career growth and exposure, travel and continued education. “During my time with Sandals I’ve completed two associate degrees and countless courses that have kept me on the cutting edge of beauty and wellness,” she said.

“The growth that I have achieved working with Sandals is truly priceless, it has also allowed me to put my kids through school without student loans and that’s something that gives me so much joy.”

As a 20-year hospitality veteran the greatest thing that Robb-Scott has learnt is the value of people. “I see this in my own journey as I am oftentimes reminded by my Sandals mentors how far I’ve come,” she reminisces.

“In my earlier years, people like Karen Paragon-Singh, my first manager in Sandals, Paulette Clarke-King my past spa manager and Patrick Huey, my former director and a close friend, saw in me what I couldn’t see in myself; they motivated, challenged and helped to mould me into the leader I am today,” Robb-Scott recounts graciously. “I look throughout the company and it’s a joy to see persons whose lives I have also impacted on their own journey of success.”

Asked what she would like her legacy to be on this latest assignment at Sandals South Coast, Robb-Scott said, “I am determined to build a confident team of individuals who know the value they bring to people just by doing what they do. Our hands are not just hands, they are what we use to nurture, it’s a transfer of energy and what we provide is not just a massage, it’s an experience.”

Robb-Scott also says she wants her name to be synonymous with the ‘good times’, “the times that my team enjoyed working, getting the best results, and at the same time growing both personally and professionally”.

To accomplish this, Robb-Scott has made it her mission to pour into each member of her team, this gives her personal joy and her experience over the years has proven that a motivated and empowered team will always produce the best results.

But as Oprah rightfully said, ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’. In order to bring value to those around you, you must first fill yourself and Robb-Scott has taken a holistic approach to this through healthy habits such as journalling, exercising and reading to nourish her mind. Working in the spa environment, Robb-Scott has also learned the importance of taking optimal care of herself.

“Over the years I’ve been exposed to different stress management relieving techniques, which I use to centre myself and stay calm, and I’m also very conscious about what I put on my skin and in my body.”

For Robb-Scott there is always room for growth but today she feels like she’s operating at a high level of self-actualisation.

“I’ve watched myself grow and correct things that I didn’t do very well in the beginning. I know the work that I can do and I feel like I’m inspiring enough where my team buys into what I’m doing because they see the results,” she said.

As for where she sees herself with Sandals, Robb-Scott says it’s a great fit as the company’s vision and her personal mantra are perfectly aligned.

“Our Executive Chairman Adam Stewart dares us to ‘dream big’ and I believe that if it exists I can have it, nothing is off limits for me.”

Yes, for Tamika Robb-Scott, these are the good times; right now she’s in the zone.