LEAD = (BE THERE + LISTEN + RESPECT + INFLUENCE)*EMPOWER*APPRECIATE
Today (last day of August 2019) I am ready to walk away from a team, a team that has been incubated and now strong enough to take off themselves. This is 6AM Health kitchen crew. I joined 6AM Health at the begining of summer just because I got inspired by the products, the mission of helping people eat healthier and so many problems in terms of operations that I am interested in solving. Although it started with those beautiful intentions, it is easier thought than done. First playing a role of connecting the office and the kitchen, I was ignored in the first place. Why? simply because Who do I think I am, just jump in expecting to disturb others’ work, also I had no kitchen experience before. Second, I was new to kitchen folks who have completely different background from mine and at different ages, who care about what you can do more than what you say. And third, I want to change the way they worked for the better but have no trust from them at all. And there were tough moments of leadership when I questioned “how is this kitchen manager adding value to the kitchen?”, when I struggled because I was not heard, when I cried since a new staff quitted, when I was demotivated by how people don’t believe in what I can do. Now those questions and doubts are all addressed over time and by these rewarding moments when I saw the kitchen manager empowering a staff, when I saw they in the crew came together to find a better way to solve problems: “hey, you know what, I think we should do this…why don’t we…”
So how I have dealt with them: first step, I chose to be there, in the kitchen, observe what they do in a way that keeps them comfortably working. This was my initial challenge since I was helpful in the way they don’t expect that is helpful. Every body was working so hard while I was observing and collecting data. Therefore, I had to be more helpful by helping them at the same time and by doing that, I got to observe in more details.
Next, from insights I got, I made some plans for changes, however, no matter how great my plans were, I could not influence the kitchen manager to implement them, just because I had not gained trust from him and he just wanted to keep the way he does. How tough, right? Yes, it even brought me to the point of considering: “Between striving for influencing someone to implement rather than striving for having great plans, which one worths more of my effort?” And it came along with the question: “This kitchen manager, how is he adding value to the kitchen, should we keep him?”. At that moment, I did not have any idea that the ultimate goal of my whole internship is to answer that question. I just know that I have not wanted to let him go, I wanted to see something, and so I chose to learn to work with him. That was when I started learning of building rapport. Yeah, but how, I started talking with him by being curious why he wanted to be a chef, a kitchen manager, we talked very straight forward but honest, not awkward I believe. Fortunately, it happened that I needed some drive from her mom who is one of the staffs back and forth since I don’t have a car, so I talked a lot with her on the car, I really like her, learnt a lot about her family including his background. Those conversations shape my belief that he and his mom are good people, and good people do good things. Obviously, he would not collaborate with me if I did not prove to him that I am there to help, so whatever the plan I communicated with him, I needed to make sure I am addressing a kitchen’s need or bottleneck and that it will lift his job by implementing that. Not to mention, I did not just sell him what to do but listen to his complains and his sharing. Those are valuable input for me to have better initiatives. More importantly, I never stop being there for them and make sure that my plan makes sense to implement. Subsequently, I became a person whom everyone can share their complains about work process, about ingredients, about anything that does not satisfy them in the kitchen, and I made sure their voice is heard by the office.
My second big challenge is to have a balance between convince them what I want them to do and give them spaces to do what they want to do, a balance between focusing on the big picture and managing details. My first leadership principle is always empowering. I believe that everyone has their own potential, they just need to be in the right places to thrive.
Right on the day I and the kitchen manager had to decide whether to let a staff go, we reconsidered about her role in the team: although her contribution to the team is very small, she is playing a small gun so that other members can play bigger guns. And that was the moment we realize her added value, that was the moment we almost left away someone’s potential.
Thanks Brad — CEO of 6AM Health & my boss and Javier — 6AM Health kitchen & my partner who had given me a great learning experience. I left this place with a confidence of being a better leader and a lesson of always being human otherwise you are not capable of working with human.
