Bonus | Seasoning Success with Empathy: A Recipe for Resilient Kitchen Leadership
In the fast-paced world of professional kitchens, leadership often boils down to barking orders and meeting metrics.
"Leadership isn't about being the loudest voice in the kitchen or demanding respect. It's about earning it through authenticity, guidance, and leading by example." - Adam Lamb
But what if there's a more powerful way to lead? One that not only drives performance but also nurtures a thriving kitchen culture?
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In this episode of Chef Life Radio, we're diving deep into the concept of heart-centered leadership. We'll explore why leading with empathy, connection, and vision isn't just a feel-good approach – it's a strategic advantage that can transform your kitchen from the inside out.
The Power of Heart-Centered Leadership
Discover how prioritizing the human element in your kitchen can:
- Foster trust and inspire excellence
- Reduce turnover and boost team morale
- Create a culture of ownership and innovation
Emotional Intelligence: Your Secret Ingredient
Learn why managing emotions – both yours and your team's – is crucial in high-pressure environments. We'll discuss practical strategies for:
- Navigating stress without losing composure
- Building genuine connections with your staff
- Creating a stable, supportive work environment
Compassion vs. Weakness: Striking the Right Balance
Worried that heart-centered leadership means being a pushover? Think again. We'll explore:
- Setting high standards while providing support
- Holding people accountable with empathy
- The difference between being kind and being soft
Real-World Impact: Stories from the Kitchen
I'll share personal experiences that illustrate the transformative power of heart-centered leadership, including:
- How active listening uncovered hidden potential in my team
- The unexpected benefits of vulnerability in building trust
- A pivotal moment that reshaped my entire approach to leadership
Actionable Steps for Heart-Centered Leadership
Walk away with practical strategies you can implement immediately:
- Conduct meaningful check-ins that go beyond work tasks
- Recognize effort, not just results
- Set clear expectations with empathy and support
Ready to create a kitchen where your team doesn't just survive, but truly thrives? Tune in to discover how leading with heart can elevate your culinary leadership and transform your kitchen culture.
Until Next Week;
Stay Tall & Frosty & Remember to Lead From the Heart
Adam
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00:00 - Introduction to Heart-Centered Leadership
00:24 - What is Heart-Centered Leadership?
02:04 - The Importance of Emotional Intelligence
03:01 - Personal Story: A Turning Point
06:54 - Lessons from the Kitchen
14:33 - Action Steps for Heart-Led Leadership
16:16 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Welcome back to the Show Chef.
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Every episode you hear me say at the very end, don't forget to lead with the
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heart, but what does that actually mean?
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Does leading with the heart make you a soft leader?
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Does it mean you put emotions over business, or is it the key to
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creating a stronger, more resilient and more successful kitchen culture?
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Today we're breaking it down.
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We'll get into what heart-centered leadership really is.
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Why it matters and how you can apply it in your kitchen right after this message.
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Welcome to Chef Life Radio, the podcast dedicated to helping chefs and culinary
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leaders take control of their kitchens, build resilient teams, and create
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a thriving career in hospitality.
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I'm Chef Adam Lamp, your host, leadership coach, and industry veteran.
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If you're tired of high turnover.
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Burnout and the daily grind, you're not alone.
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This podcast is here to give you the real strategies, insights, and tools you
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need to lead with confidence, build a culture of excellence and craft a kitchen
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that works for you, not against you.
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Because the best kitchens don't just survive, they thrive.
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Hit that subscribe button and let's get started.
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Welcome back to the show.
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Leading with the Heart means prioritizing, connection, empathy, and vision.
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Over simply enforcing rules and hitting performance metrics, those
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goddamn KPIs, a heart-centered leader doesn't just manage tasks, they
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build trust, inspire and create an environment where people wanna excel.
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When leaders focus solely on efficiency and discipline, without considering
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the human element, they create a transactional work environment
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rather than a transformational one.
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Leadership as a relationship.
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A kitchen isn't just about food, it's about the people making it.
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Strong leadership recognizes the human element behind every dish,
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fostering respect and camaraderie.
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When chefs feel like they're more than just workers, they invest
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more in their work and their team.
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Emotional intelligence and leadership.
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Recognizing and managing your own emotions while also understanding the
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emotions of your team is a critical skill for heart-centered leadership.
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I. The ability to navigate high pressure situations while remaining composed,
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creates stability for your team.
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The difference between compassion and weakness, many believe that leading with
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the heart means being soft In reality, it's about setting high standards while
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providing the support needed to meet them.
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Compassionate leaders hold people accountable while also giving them
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the tools, feedback and encouragement necessary for improvement.
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It doesn't mean being a doormat.
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There's a difference between being soft and being kind.
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Here's a reflection.
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Do you lead with inspiration and understanding, or just with
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the rules and expectations?
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So there I was on the beach in Bradenton, Florida.
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I had gotten out of the industry.
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I thought my life was going in a completely different direction,
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and as soon as I got settled into this beautiful home.
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In a gated community.
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With my steady partner, I got a call and it was from somebody
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who I hadn't heard from in years.
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This was a chef that I had known for all my life, and he says to me,
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Hey, listen, I just took over this huge property in Virginia and it's,
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it's nine kitchens and 15 outlets.
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It does $21 million a year, and it's just too big for me to handle.
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Would you come and be my sous chef?
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And I thought to myself, shit, I ain't been a sous chef in 25 years.
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What am I gonna do with that?
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I was totally confused.
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I hung up.
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I turned to my girlfriend and I say, I thought that I
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was supposed to go this way.
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Now it's pulling me back that way.
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Kind of like being in the mafia, right?
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Gonna pull you back in.
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And I said to her, now, what the hell am I gonna do?
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And she very quietly waited and then said to me, I. Adam, you'll never know if it's
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right unless you go on the adventure.
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It's always a yes until it's a no.
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I'm like, what?
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What do you mean?
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She says, go down the rabbit hole, and if there's something that's
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gonna say no, you'll find it.
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The journey is not in your head.
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It's in the steps that you take.
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Funny enough, in seven days I was processed.
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On property in uniform, walking into my first meeting, and that's when I knew
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that that's probably where I should be.
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But even then, I spent about four or five months kicking and screaming
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about why the hell am I there?
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My girlfriend is in Florida, I'm in Virginia.
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I can't even see her.
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What the hell is going on?
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Like raging at the skies.
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Frankly, being a complete victim of my circumstance.
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One night on the phone, Jennifer said to me, listen, why don't you just be
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where you're at and have what you have?
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And I didn't understand what she meant then, but over the next couple days,
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as I was going through work, I started to understand like what would it feel
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like to actually be present instead of trying to figure out where I was
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supposed to be or why this particular position wasn't the right one for me.
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Now, this is the first time.
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In 25 years that I hadn't been the executive chef, I didn't have
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that weight up on my shoulders or heavy hangs the crown.
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As a matter of fact, my friend would go around as the executive chef and
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he would bark his orders and he would demean people or he would do whatever
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he was doing, and then I was up to me to kind of come around and pick up the
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pieces and smooth all the feathers and make sure that everybody understood
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that this is just his way of doing it.
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But.
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In a very real sense, I understood clearly the difference between leading with
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personality and leading by standards.
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Not to say that what he was doing was wrong because it wasn't what I was doing
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wasn't necessarily right or wrong either, but the blending of the two created an
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opportunity for the associates in that property to actually be mentored and
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coached in such a way that they found themselves thinking about themselves.
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Beyond that present moment, like what they possibly become because
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we were gonna provide the tools, information, and time in order for
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them to create their excellence.
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I laughingly would admit that my job was as simple as having
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a thousand conversations a day.
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But it's weird when you provide an opportunity to start a
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conversation and actually spend more time listening than talking.
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That's what I mean about leading from the heart.
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Why leading from the heart is the key to long-term success.
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Kitchens led with heart, have higher retention, lower burnout, and stronger
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team dynamics because people feel valued, heard, and invested in their work.
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When employees feel like they are merely a cog in the machine, they
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disengage leading to higher turnover and lower overall team morale.
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Leadership that prioritizes human connection leads to long-term success.
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Fostering an environment where people take pride in their
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contributions, fear versus inspiration.
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Leaders who rule with fear get short-term compliance, but leaders who lead
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with heart gain long-term loyalty.
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Employees will follow orders when afraid, but they will go above and beyond when
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they feel inspired and appreciated.
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The burnout factor.
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A heart-centered leader knows that supporting their team's wellbeing is
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just as important as driving performance.
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When people feel emotionally drained or undervalued, they disengage or leave.
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Kitchens with high turnover rates struggle to maintain consistency and quality.
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The cultural shift, creating a culture where employees feel empowered,
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fosters a stronger sense of ownership.
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Meaning fewer mistakes, better teamwork, higher levels of
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creativity in the kitchen.
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And when chefs feel respected and heard, they contribute ideas, solve problems
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proactively, and take initiative.
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Leading with the heart doesn't mean ignoring accountability.
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It means setting high standards while also supporting people and reaching them.
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It's one thing to give someone a job, it's another thing entirely to support them
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all the way through the jobs completion.
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I once took over.
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One of the most successful kitchens on the Intercoastal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
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and I had a mandate to change the menu, and so I went through all the processes,
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created all the standards, created all the station maps, wrote all the recipes,
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and then plastered them everywhere in the kitchen on the day that we were
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supposed to change everything over.
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It's 1145.
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Everybody's ready.
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Everybody's been prepped.
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We've gone over this several days and I'm calling out orders, and all of
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a sudden everything's getting kicked into the window and I had to stop
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because I couldn't understand why the saute cook was preparing all the old
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menu items stopped what we were doing.
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Went up, started talking to him.
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He is like, I got it, chef.
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It's no problem.
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Went back in the front, started kicking ass again, and then he
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continued to do the same thing.
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I could not understand what was going on, so I. Went behind the line, pulled
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him off the side, used my body and my presence to kind of block him in a
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corner and say, dude, what's going on?
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You're making me look bad.
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Didn't we talk about this?
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Haven't we trained this?
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Haven't I provided you the tools and the knowledge and the time in order to create
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this such that you could be successful?
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And the entire time I'm talking to him, he's looking down at his shoes.
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And when I paused, he says to me, but chef.
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I can't read.
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And in that moment, my heart broke for many reasons, for my arrogance, for my
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overbearing attitude, for the fact that I didn't consider this a possibility
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previously and made allowances for it.
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And in that moment, all I could do was just say, I'm sorry.
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Was it his fault that he didn't have the tools in order to succeed?
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Was it my fault that I didn't understand what he needed first?
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All that bullshit aside that caused us to go down the rabbit hole of like what it
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would be like to create an ESOL program, bring it to the property and make the
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same opportunity available to everybody.
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And that came from the heart.
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That didn't come from standards or procedures or any of that stuff.
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It caused me to go over there with him and understand what it must have been
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like for him to try to struggle through bluff through until he could succeed.
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And I'd been there.
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All I knew that that sucked.
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Having a consistent standard of performance is the only way to hold
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associates accountable, but that still doesn't account for the fact that some
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are more disadvantaged than others dive, or at least a concerted effort.
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If I couldn't meet him where he was.
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Then I was not only failing him, but I was failing the entire team.
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Leading with the heart isn't just a concept, it's a set of actionable
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habits and behaviors that create a high performing motivated kitchen team.
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To be effective, a leader must integrate their principles into
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daily operations and ensuring that their actions align with their words.
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Active listening.
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Truly hearing what your team is saying and addressing their concerns, builds trust,
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and fosters a positive work culture.
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Leaders who listen, well cultivate an atmosphere where employees feel
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safe, voicing ideas and concerns without fear of retaliation.
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That means creating an opportunity, a safe space, or a container in
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which to voice those concerns.
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Encouraging ownership, giving employees a sense of autonomy and investment
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in their work leads to higher engagement and better performance.
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Empowering team members to take responsibility and problem solve.
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Strengthens the entire kitchen, but don't set them up for failure.
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Give them an idea of what it looks like to succeed clearly,
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and then follow up consistently.
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Balancing tough love with support, holding people accountable, while also
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providing the tools, mentorship, and encouragement they need to succeed.
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A leader should be firm, yet fair offering guidance rather than micromanagement.
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One of the most pivotal moments in my career was when I was the executive
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chef of a hotel in Hollywood, Florida that was taken over by a real estate
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investment trust, and they brought in this really hot GM to transition everything.
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And one night I am back in the kitchen doing my thing, and I see him walk in the
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back halls and he comes into the kitchen.
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He says, chef, you know you really love what you do.
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And I'm like, yes, I do, sir. Thank you very much.
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He's like, do you always want to be like chained to the stove?
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I'm like, what are you interested in?
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All in learning what it's like to actually run the business
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instead of being in the business.
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That was Dave Milas.
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At that time, I had a long ass ponytail and a French braid with
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pencil stuck in the back of my head.
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I thought about that all night long, and I came back the next day and I
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shaved everything off, not because he asked, because I wanted to.
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Acknowledge what he said to me as an opportunity to go deeper into my craft.
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I gotta admit that it was probably the first time in my career that
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I was willing to shed the skin I was in to discover something else.
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Wasn't easy, kind of rocky felt shitty, but I stuck with it because
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iteration upon iteration upon iteration is the only path to success.
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And looking back, even then, I understood that I was trying to
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be 1% better than I was yesterday.
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More understanding, more expansive.
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More willing to fail.
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More willing to try just a little bit farther than yesterday, just 1%.
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Your action steps for this episode, number one, check in with your team.
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Not just about work, but about their wellbeing.
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Be willing to view them as a whole and complete human being.
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Number two, recognize effort, not just results.
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That means celebrating small wins while also calling out opportunities for growth.
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Number three, set expectations with clarity and empathy.
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Challenge your team, but also give them the tools.
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Knowledge time to rise to that next level.
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A heart led kitchen is a high performing kitchen.
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When chefs feel valued, they bring their best, not just for
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the paycheck, but because they believe in what they're doing.
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If today's conversation resonated with you, take a moment to reflect
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on how you are leading your kitchen.
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Are you just giving orders or are you inspiring action.
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Remember, leadership is more than management.
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It's about making a lasting impact on your team and your culture.
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Leadership isn't about being the loudest voice in the kitchen or demanding respect.
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It's about earning it through authenticity, guidance, and leading by
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example, transparency and vulnerability.
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Ask yourself, how do my team members feel when they leave their shift?
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Are they leaving motivated and inspired?
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Are they drained and discouraged?
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The answer to that question reflects the leadership culture you are building.
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So the next time you step in your kitchen, ask yourself, am I leading with the heart?
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Until next time, stay tall and frosty and don't forget to lead with the heart.
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That's a wrap for today's episode of Chef Life Radio.
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If this resonated with you, do me a favor, subscribe, share, and leave a review.
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Your feedback helps us reach more culinary leaders like you who are ready
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to take their kitchens to the next level.
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Want more connect with me on LinkedIn, Instagram, or join our Chef
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Life Radio community for exclusive insights and leadership tools.
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Remember, leadership isn't about perfection.
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It's about progress.
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So take what you've learned today and apply it in your kitchen,
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your team, and your life.
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Chef Life Radio is more than just a podcast, it's a movement.
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The focus is no longer just on career survival, but on transforming leadership,
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creating sustainability, and ensuring chefs can build kitchens that thrive.
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Remember, the secret ingredient to culinary success isn't just in
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the food, it's in the leadership.
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Keep learning, keep growing, and as always.
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Lead with the heart.
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See you next time.
