Leadership Lessons from "The Bear" - Lesson 10

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

This is the last of ten lessons derived from the FX series “The Bear,” be sure to check out my prior posts to catch up!

A short recap: 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.?

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!?Let me know what you think, and of course what I may have missed in the way of leadership lessons – we can always expand the list!