Leadership Lessons from "The Bear" - Lesson 4

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

This is the fourth of ten lessons derived from the FX series “The Bear,” be sure to check out my prior posts to catch up! A link to the first one is above...

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 fourth lesson:

1.??????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.

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Lesson 5 coming up next!