"O Captain! My Chef!"

- The kitchen is closing in fifteen minutes, any last orders? said the smiley waitress, walking slowly around the full tables, under the urban night sky.

Half an hour later, the two line cooks of this promising, newly opened restaurant where we indulged in a delicious dinner and some tasty summery cocktails, joined our company for a few moments. They had already packed and were ready to call it an evening. Outdoor smoking in restaurants is still permitted in Greece, and despite the unbearable long-lasting heatwave, which sustained its radiating effect from the surrounding concrete blocks of flats, well past midnight, the cooks seemed desperate for a cigarette to wind down their human "rpm" before heading home. In the calmness of the moment, my annoyingly tickling curiosity outweighed my empathy for any energy reserves left in them, and I asked an honest question about the challenges of their work. And that was enough to instantly reignite them both, and start a long conversation about what could be thought of as the on-earth closest resemblance to inferno: a fully running restaurant kitchen.

It did not take me long to see the pattern. Whatever the subtopic was, the cooks were all the time converging back to one figure: The chef.

My insisting refusal to pay attention to any of the trendy culinary-themed reality shows that overwhelmed the past decade's primetime TV, had kept me pretty unaware of the full scope of a chef's role, and so I wrongfully had sustained the impression of a solely artistic nature of this vocation, ignoring its equally crucial operational responsibilities. Until the cooks gave me that striking description:

- The chef is the maestro, the artist, she will have to imagine and design the menu in absolute harmony with the restaurant's style, the guests' expectations and the owners' vision. That takes a great deal of talent and knowledge, and it is the cornerstone for success...

- …but she also has to understand the kitchen well. For a dish that is too complex for a section's capacity, if two orders come at the same time the production might slow down, and if a third one arrives the whole line will be completely blocked...

Hearing this narrative, I think I traced a possible past psychic trauma that might have been brought back to memory and shaped a vivid illustration in my mind: the figure of a rookie line cook in a meltdown, next to a "burning" stove amid excessive demand.

And all of a sudden, I felt my realization "punching" me in the face. Of course! It will always be about the "chef". Where isn't it about her? In what workplace and at what distance from the "core" - where operations and administration, synched like a well organized kitchen, crafting valuable outputs for customers - in what kind of such reality the touch of the "chef" is not widely and vividly present?

Departing from the kitchen and reflecting about leadership from a broad perspective, it is known that there are decades of theories, models and contexts for leaders, that attempt to provide guidance and increase skills. And this is true, since it does not take long to realize the detrimental effects of the one-size-fits-all logic and of the inability of adaptation and change.

However, some critical competences still remain universal, regardless of the context, as described in Laura Galloway's book "Leadership: Perspectives from Practice" (2022):

Communicating: Transmit clearly and receive well.

Knowing: Know, develop and value people, understand your assets.

Motivating: Use praise, say "thank you", defer credit, set attainable targets

Taking charge: Be known, lead by example, be available, be decisive

Representing: Be positive, avoid blame in the team and of the team, own mistakes.

As you step into a leading role, consider these five, simple but so important principles and attempt to embed them in your behavior. Dare to perform frequent self-tests by asking for feedback, reflecting and being brave to acknowledge any weak sides that could be improved.

As a result, you may expect that your followers will be loyal and grateful!

PS: The title of this article is inspired by the poem O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman, a metaphoric elegy for Abraham Lincoln after his assassination in 1865, touching (among other things) upon leading in turbulent times, the tremendous cost of leadership, victory and loss and the role of leader in achieving goals.

Opinions and views expressed here are solely my own and do not reflect the positions or beliefs of my employer or any organizations I collaborate with.