{"id":6467,"date":"2025-12-23T11:03:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T10:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/?p=6467"},"modified":"2025-12-23T11:03:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T10:03:54","slug":"s-for-stoklosa-maria-juice-sok-and-words-slowo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/s-for-stoklosa-maria-juice-sok-and-words-slowo\/","title":{"rendered":"S for Stok\u0142osa. Maria, juice (sok) and words (s\u0142owo)\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A\u00a0conversation with Maria Stok\u0142osa-Cucciniello \u2013 co-owner of\u00a0City SM Hotel in Krak\u00f3w, author, active mother \u2013 on\u00a0continuous growth, feminine leadership style and\u00a0fulfilment in private life. She\u00a0has just\u00a0been awarded the title of\u00a0Leader\u00a0by vocation<\/em>.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Were you born a\u00a0leader or did you become one?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I think I was already born a leader. Even at school, I had always presided a class. I\u2019ve had organisational energy and drive since childhood. It\u2019s in my DNA \u2013 inherited from my father, who was capable of inspiring people. I\u2019ve always been active, naturally taking on the role of someone who connects, moderates and inspires. To this day, in addition to managing the hotel, I\u2019m involved in various initiatives \u2013 whether it\u2019s three-parent class representative in my children\u2019s school or large events. That\u2019s just how I am \u2013 I act, lead and organise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You went to study in Italy, didn\u2019t you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I followed my heart. I went to Rome for the love I found in Krak\u00f3w. This life step turned out to be not only an adventure, but also an important stage in my education. I graduated from Tor Vergata University with a degree of dottoressa di lettere e filosofia. Italy captivated me with its lightness of being, approach to life and the beauty of its architecture. I was taken by joy, ease and openness \u2013 although sometimes such lack of organisation could be a challenge. To this day, I\u2019m a fan of Italy, its culture, cuisine and climate. It was there, where I learned it\u2019s worth living life to its fullest, and not just to the rhythm of obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how did your professional development go?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My professional development was primarily empirical. I started working at a hotel reception while still in secondary school, and also cleaned rooms. This experience taught me that to be a good manager, one needs to know all the levels of how the managed place operates. Later, I gained more skills by learning on the job. A hotel teaches you humility \u2013 every day something new happens, you meet different people, and every situation is a lesson. The training courses I completed, such as Maxwell Leadership Certified Team, helped me lead my team even better and cooperate with contractors, but it was practice that gave me the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When did you return to Poland and how did you start managing a\u00a0hotel?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I returned to Poland precisely 20 years ago and started managing the City SM Business & Spa hotel in Krak\u00f3w simply overnight. It\u2019s a unique facility \u2013 surrounded by greenery, with a hundred comfortable rooms, six conference rooms, a spa area and a restaurant serving cuisine mixing tradition with modernity. I\u2019m responsible for the catering, hotel and conference services (HRK), my second sister for the spa and technical supervision, and my third sister \u2013 for finance and human resources. My most important task is to moderate the work of the entire team \u2013 so that everyone feels they have their place and significance. It\u2019s a huge challenge, because working with diverse personalities is not easy at all. On top of that, there\u2019s decision-making on prices, signing contracts and negotiating agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What trainings and mentoring have you undergone?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I constantly invest in my development. The Maxwell Leadership course I already mentioned before, turned out to be extremely useful because it taught me how to lead people with empathy but also consistency. I also take advantage of various management, communication and mentoring trainings. This definitely makes finding balance between demands and support \u2013 both for employees and business partners \u2013 easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How do\u00a0you professional life with motherhood?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I mother two teenagers, so today our life is based on partnership and cooperation. When they were little, it was far more difficult, but I always knew priorities were the key. My children were, are and always will be my top priority, thus I adapted everything else to this principle. Organisation is essential \u2013 each and every mother knows that there\u2019s no other way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you feel happy?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I am happy. I joke of having \u2018permanent happiness syndrome\u2019. I fulfil myself as a mother, leader, entrepreneur and woman. In addition to work and family, I let myself to pursue my passions \u2013 eg. burlesque dance, which develops femininity, sensuality and gives me great joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have also written a\u00a0book about challenges women face today. Could you reveal any details to WHY Story readers?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I wrote a book titled Sok z Kobiety, which I hope to be released later this year. In the book, I analyse femininity in various dimensions and problems faced by modern women. The story is about four heroines at different stages of life \u2013 and I think there\u2019s something for everyone. For men, on the other hand, it\u2019s an opportunity to view the womens\u2019 world \u2018from the inside\u2019 \u2013 from their perspective. I\u2019m currently working on the second part of the book, because I believe this to be only the beginning of my adventure with writing.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Anna Stok\u0142osa<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Plans and dreams.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My plans are fairly broad. I\u2019d like the hotel to continuously develop, become more open to new markets and attract more contractors. We have six modern conference rooms to be used for events whether for companies or institutions from all over Poland and abroad. Another huge asset is our Le\u015bne SPA, which I\u2019d love to promote not only locally, but nationwide \u2013 as a\u00a0place of rest, regeneration and contact with nature.
Simultaneously, I\u00a0plan to grow as a\u00a0writer and leader. I\u00a0hope the literary journey I\u00a0began with Sok z\u00a0Kobiety, will continue and flourish. As a\u00a0humanist by education, I\u00a0know the enormous power of words \u2013 they can inspire, encourage and bring people together.
Privately, I\u00a0only dream of my life to remain exactly as it is now \u2013 full of work, passion, people I\u00a0love and the feeling of being in the right place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beata Seku\u0142a<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0conversation with Maria Stok\u0142osa-Cucciniello \u2013 co-owner of\u00a0City SM Hotel in Krak\u00f3w, author, active mother \u2013 on\u00a0continuous growth, feminine leadership style and\u00a0fulfilment in private life. She\u00a0has just\u00a0been awarded the title of\u00a0Leader\u00a0by vocation. Were you born a\u00a0leader or did you become one? I think I was already born a leader. Even at school, I had always presided a class. I\u2019ve had organisational […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1115],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6467"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6467"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6479,"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6467\/revisions\/6479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whystory.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}