Is your team in it for the long term?

Before I qualified as a chef, I did the graft work.

I’d trained and worked in restaurants, cafés, ski resorts and clubs, but the next - and in retrospect - my first real opportunity came working in a 5-star establishment as a commis chef.

The hierarchy, the accountability and discipline were different to what I had previously experienced, and to be honest I had a hard time adjusting. It didn’t help that the sous chef put me in the larder section (which had a team of eight) and my tasks each day were comprised of washing lettuce, shucking oysters, cleaning Balmain Bugs and peeling prawns. With the volume the customers ate, these tasks took up the whole shift! ?

Here I was, a young and recently qualified chef, doing what I considered to be menial tasks. I felt insulted, wasted, frustrated.?After a few weeks I had been offered another role at a creative, produce driven restaurant running my own section.

I was ready to resign. It felt like the right move.

As a trainer I am constantly working with emerging leaders. There is a level of maturity, experience and mindset required to take the leap. There is a level of persistence and patience required. It not always about the next fun or creative project. Sometimes you need to put your head down, build muscle memory and gain experience.

After three months of washing lettuce, cleaning seafood and setting the buffet the sous chef pulled me aside and said, “Great job young gun. I thought you were a flight risk. You persisted and showed me a solid work ethic.” He promoted me on the spot to a demi chef and moved me to the fine dining restaurant to run my own section.

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It can feel easier, and almost instinctive, to chase the next role or join a new team. In the moment, it’s exciting and feels good. There are many times where your team will benefit much more from not pulling the plug and gaining a depth of experience.?

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What are you persisting with right now?

Explore how to build your teams resilience.

Stay Hungry.....

Glenn

P.S. One of my favourite quotes on persistence is from the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu

- In nature, nothing is rushed but all is achieved….