Feedback Is a Leadership Skill, Not a Personality Trait
Communication has always been a big part of how I operate. One of the first things I tell a new cook or a team member is simple: ask me five times until you understand it before you convince me you heard me when you are still lost.
Pay attention to what I do say, not what I do not. I have spent too much time around people who think that slamming a pan on the stove or hitting a knife harder on the cutting board or letting out a long sigh is a form of communication. It is not. If I have an issue with something you are doing, you will know because I will talk to you about it. If sanitation needs attention, I will say so. If something can be done more efficiently, I will show you. If you are missing the mark, I will straighten the path. What that does, beyond just delivering feedback, is free my team to focus on their work. Nobody has to waste energy trying to interpret my body language or guess whether I am unhappy. That burden was never theirs to carry.
I have worked for chefs across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond who believed that intimidation and fear were motivators. That was never a lesson I chose to take with me. If anything, it taught me what not to do. When someone tries to make you feel less than, it does not make you work harder, it makes you look for the exit. So when I am the one leading, when I have a crew of people putting their effort behind my vision, the last thing I want is for them to walk on eggshells. You almost literally have the power to make someone feel like a superhero. Why would you choose anything else.
Often when I have gone back to a sous chef or a lead to question a result after delegating something, the response points to a discomfort with communicating at that level. And I understand it. I was not always a strong communicator either. What changed was being on the receiving end of enough different approaches that I started to figure out what actually worked and what did not. What inspired me to want to do my best. Once you have that reference point you can start building something with it.
The same way you demonstrate your knowledge through the food you put on the plate, you can demonstrate your leadership through the way you communicate. If it worked for you, it will work from you.
Next in the series: Your Energy Is Finite. Stop Solving the Same Problems Twice.
The conversation can start anytime. Reach out directly at reino@cruzexperience.com.
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