Leadership Lessons from "The Bear" - Lesson 9

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

This is the ninth 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 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.?

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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.??

Thanks for sticking with me on this! One more to go! Lesson 10 tomorrow!