Leadership Lessons from "The Bear" - Lessons 1 - 10

The following contains spoilers from season 1 and 2 of The Bear, which is streaming on Hulu.?

This content was shared as a series of articles, but I received some requests to compile all 10 lessons into a single article so they can be shared together.

A little while ago, I shared an article I found listing the leadership lessons one can take away from “Ted Lasso,” and it was pretty well received.?Along those lines, I’ve tried to summarize ten of the leadership lesson take-aways I’ve seen in watching the first two seasons of “The Bear,” and have compiled them all here in a single article.

If you haven’t seen the show, I recommend it.

An award-winning young chef (Carmy) from the world of fine dining comes home to Chicago to run his family's Italian beef sandwich shop after the suicide of his older brother, who left behind debts, a rundown kitchen, and an unruly staff.?Carmy wants to transform the restaurant into a top-tier establishment, but is confronted with personal challenges, unresolved debt, and a chaotic and toxic work culture that is resistant to change.?

Beyond a compelling story, the guest stars who make appearances are outstanding, and the ‘needle drops’ for the soundtrack are worth the visit – even if you aren’t looking to derive business-value from a popular show!

1. Seek inspiration and encourage others to do the same.

As preparations for the new restaurant get underway, Carmy deploys the team members on individual journeys of inspiration – Sydney embarks on a tour of high-end restaurants to sample menu items to get ideas for their own (and boy, I don’t know how she was able to eat all that in one episode!)

Marcus (the baker) is sent to Copenhagen to work with one of Carmy’s past associates to learn high-end pastry making; Tina and Ebraheim (a veteran line cook at the sandwich shop) are enrolled in culinary school (with mixed results).

?Most notably (and Emmy-worthy if you ask me), Richie (sandwich shop manager) is sent to spend some time in a Michelin-starred restaurant to better understand how both the front and back of the house work in a high-end establishment.?

Not all these assignments work out, but those that do (particularly for Marcus and Tina) are life-changing for the individuals and take the teams’ capabilities to another level.

Richie (as is his way) struggles with why he’s being ‘punished’ as the assignment requires him to perform tasks he feels are beneath him, but in the end his is probably the most remarkable transformation – “I wear suits now.”?

Even Ebraheim, who effectively walks away from the culinary school training, eventually returns to a role he’s more comfortable playing (running the take-away window).?

The point is,?as leaders it is up to us to encourage our team members to challenge themselves, even when they may not initially ‘appreciate’ the challenge, for them to reach new levels of inspiration and motivation.

Our second lesson:

2. Mistakes will be made.

Oh boy, where to start with this one.?Rather than recap all the mistakes our heroes make, let’s focus on the lesson learned –?making mistakes is human, and what matters is what we learn from them and how we move forward.?

In one exchange, after Marcus creates an issue for the entire team when his focus and prioritization is off, and in trying to recover inadvertently puts the whole sandwich shop out of power.?

While the rest of the team rallies to work around the challenge (more on that in Lesson 5), a despondent Marcus owns up to his mistake to Carmy, who reacts empathetically.?

Marcus promises Carmy “I won’t make a mistake again,” to which Carmy responds “Yeah, you will.?But not because you’re you.?Because [s---] happens.”?

He goes on to share some of the catastrophic mistakes he has made in his successful career, showing his authenticity and vulnerability.?

The other lesson for leaders here is to?be authentic and vulnerable with your team?– while some may feel this would be perceived as a sign of weakness, in fact it is a strength, building trust and bonds with the team members.

Our third lesson:

3. The grass is not always greener.

Watching the first couple of episodes of season 1, I must admit – I was trying to determine which of these yahoo’s needed to be let go before things could get better.?For me, that is so counter to the way I usually think, but those of you who have watched those episodes, let me know if you were thinking any differently.

As the seasons progressed, it became clear that each of those ‘yahoos’ had a unique set of skills or capabilities that might not have been obvious early on but was brought out through the experiences and encouragement they receive from leadership.?

This truly is a lesson in leadership –?it might seem simpler and easier to cut people loose and replace them with others who you feel have the right stuff, but in that transition, you may lose some of the less obvious ‘stuff’ that has both value and potential.?

By focusing on developing his team – even when they don’t seem to WANT to be developed or understand that’s what is happening – Carmy has a cohesive team ready to tackle challenges, even if he’s locked in a freezer.?

By contrast, one of the new hires (more line chefs needed for a restaurant over a sandwich shop) who seemed to have the right skills shows his true self in the end – no one is going believe the guy smoking meth by the dumpster during the dinner rush was the ‘greener grass.’

Our fourth lesson:

4. Loyalty and trust are a two-way street.

Tina is a long-time veteran of the sandwich shop, and none too pleased to be taking direction from Sydney, who she sees as an inexperienced upstart.?She initially acts out inappropriately – sabotaging one of Sydney’s recipes, for example – which does not go unnoticed by Sydney.?

?Later, when Tina makes a mistake in her own recipe, Sydney steps in and fixes it for her.?While Tina is initially angry at Sydney for her unasked-for assistance, once she tastes the revised and revived dish, she recognizes that it’s much better than her original and realizes there is much she could learn from Sydney.?

?As the Tina / Sydney story unfolds over several episodes, probably one of the most heart-warming moments was when Sydney (awkwardly) asks Tina to become her Sous Chef – a promotion in the brigade, and a sign of trust between Sydney and Tina.?Tina’s reaction is priceless.?

?Early in Season 1, when Carmy is getting settled into the sandwich shop (with some resentment and pushback from the team), there is one scene where he is looking for his high-end chef knife (chefs are notoriously protective of their knives) but can’t find it.?Eventually, he finds it on the floor – a real sign of disrespect for both the knife and for him.?While it’s not clear that Tina is specifically responsible for the knife on the floor, in Season 2, when Tina is sent to culinary school, Carmy shows trust in her by loaning her the knife, a gesture which by itself makes a big impression on Tina.?Late in Season 2, as the restaurant is getting ready to open, Tina mentions needing to return the knife to Carmy – who tells her he never intended to ask for it back.?The gift of the knife, and the trust it embodies, are small but important details that drive home this lesson.

Working through difficult relationships can be rewarding when the payoff is a connection where colleagues are acting in sync.

Our fifth lesson:

5. Never underestimate an empowered and resilient team.

During the crisis described in Lesson 2, all power in the sandwich shop goes out just before they are due to open.?

?With food at risk of spoiling, and no way to prepare and deliver the meal service as scheduled, the team (led by Sydney) rallies to create a barbeque pit in the parking lot and finds homes in refrigerators and freezers of friends to save what they can.?

?That which can’t be rehomed is converted into useful (and salvageable) items.?The day’s business is saved, and the team has come through by following their own initiative.?In this example, Sydney never considers giving up, she instinctively reacts and responds to the situation, knowing this is her role and she will have the support of Carmy and the team.

With the right team, challenges become opportunities, and the empowered and resilient team will make the most of those opportunities.

Our sixth lesson:

6. The importance of customer experience (CX).

It seems cliché at this point to highlight the importance of the customer experience, but the show does a good job of highlighting how important this is in the restaurant and hospitality industry.?

?Early on, the focus for the sandwich shop is more on the User Experience (UX) – the sandwiches they make are very, very good – but the overall Customer Experience (CX) is not even a consideration.?The level of disfunction of the team, along with a questionable approach to customer interaction, makes it clear the shop is surviving based solely on the quality of the sandwiches.?

?Once Richie spends some time ‘staging’ at the high-end restaurant, he develops an understanding of the importance of the broader CX – of key importance,?the art of ‘listening’ and making note of what the customers need.?

?The research that goes into knowing the customer -before they arrive for their reservation – and creating a unique experience for them, sometimes with ‘surprises’ to ‘blow their minds’?results in joy not only for the customer, but for the servers as well.?

?The scene with Richie singing Taylor Swift in his car on the ride home brought out exactly how rewarding it can be to exceed those customer expectations.?The UX – the food- is important (and requires its own set of research and feedback to perfect), but it’s only a portion of the overall CX.

Our seventh lesson:

7. The unsung hero – give them a chance.

One of the minor (but fascinating) characters is Fek.?Fek technically does not work for the sandwich shop, and initially doesn’t figure to work for the restaurant either, but over the course of the seasons we see what Fek does – he fixes stuff (most of the time), and the team comes to count on Fek any time something breaks or isn’t working as expected.?

?Early on, Fek is not treated with much respect, and almost acts like a punch line to an ongoing joke.?However, he is persistent in sticking around, and as the sandwich shop is being converted into the restaurant in season 2, he shows his true value.?

?Case in point, when the restaurant repeatedly fails their fire suppression test, Fek takes a good deal of abuse for these failed tests.?But it is Fek who finally has the breakthrough moment when he figures out why the gas won’t shut off during a fire and is able to fix it just in time for the final test.?

?While I thought that was a pretty good story arc for Fek, it turns out he wasn’t done – during the opening night, when things are hectic (and Carmy is locked in a freezer), Richie needs to step up and step in staging orders in the kitchen, which leaves Fek as the main guy managing the front of the house.?

?After many episodes watching Richie trash Fek mercilessly, it was great to see their exchange at that point, when Fek admits to Richie that he’s scared, and Richie assuring Fek he can do this and will do great.?A great ribbon to tie on that relationship, showing that they really do have each other’s backs.?

?The key lesson here –?look for the right opportunity for the team members to show what they can really do and provide the encouragement and support they need to confidently deliver.

Our eighth lesson:

8. Understanding the value of a vision (and a visionary leader).

Carmy comes from a world of restaurants very different to the sandwich shop he inherits and is working with a (dysfunctional would be a generous way to phrase it) team with no formal training or experience.?

?He clearly has ideas and aspirations for what the restaurant can be but struggles to convey those ideas to the existing team.?

?Early on, he enlists Sydney, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, as his second-in-command and between the two of them they convey to the team the changes required to take the restaurant to the next level.?

?This is met with a great deal of resistance, and our main characters struggle with how best to communicate their vision, which is the lesson –?while the vision is very important, it is only effective if and when it is communicated clearly to leadership and the team.

Our ninth lesson:

9. Change is hard, and it is not immediate.

Implementing improvements (such as the Brigade de Cuisine, a hierarchical structure employed by restaurants to ensure proper separation and execution of duties in what is a time-sensitive production environment) does not go over well with the long-tenured team from the sandwich shop and takes some time before most of the staff sees and understands the benefits of the approach.

?The familiar refrain of ‘we have a system’ is the common push-back response when trying to implement the new system, and one which any of us who have executed transformational journeys should be painfully familiar.?

?Some changes blow up in their faces – like leaving pre-orders enabled on a new ‘to go’ application – but after the dust settles, there are learnings and improvements to be made based on those missteps.?

?As you work your way through “the ugly middle” of a transformation in process, it’s important to recognize and celebrate the small wins, even if there are mistakes and unforeseen challenges being experienced at the same time.??

Our tenth lesson:

10. The power of ‘family.’

This one might be a bit controversial, having been involved in a number of discussions on the value of a ‘family’ atmosphere in a business environment, but hear me out.?

?The sandwich shop is run very much as a family business (although few are actually family members, most view themselves as virtual cousins), and along with that comes the typical challenges seen in close-family operations – fighting (both verbal and physical); the ‘we’ve always done it this way’ attitude; lack of a rallying mission and purpose for the team.?

?Taking the same team members, infusing them with a clearer sense of purpose, supporting their growth and development to learn new skills and hone existing ones, and creating a sense of mutual respect among the team all help drive a more cohesive and trust-driven organization.?

?Do they still fight? Of course!?But they also more quickly check themselves and apologize to each other when they overstep.?

?I thought the use of American Sign Language for “I’m sorry” between the team members was a nice touch to show how we all have our own ways of communicating as members of a team – quick and easy ways to convey our feelings – or regrets – and get back on task.?

?Perhaps we need to better define the term “family” for business context – people who work together closely (typically over an extended period of time) and have a degree of familiarity with each other which can manifest as a mix of both good (trust, respect, and a shared sense of community) and bad (situations that would make an HR professional have nightmares).?

?To me, the power of ‘family’ comes from focusing on how to accentuate the positive, and to the best of our abilities eliminate the negative.

Thanks for reading, and supporting this series of articles. Please feel free to post feedback and your own observations in the comments!