I used to work at a restaurant run by, as the owner put it, “a team of leaders.”
I never knew what she meant until the rains came.
This restaurant was run by a brilliant single woman1, and for most of its existence, it did not have a manager, protocols, spreadsheets, nor even suggested staff behaviors, or sales trainings.
What there was, was trust and a kickass group of pros who worked well together. This was partially prescribed in the name of the place: trattoria Simpatico.
And we had one of the most heart-felt, real restaurants in the state, where senators, mobsters, celebrities and even Liza Minelli came for dinner (she was lovely and present). The restaurant was not the prettiest, and had a fair amount of duct tape holding parts of it together, but the food was great, and the people greater. This means: ALL the people – staff2 and guests alike.
One rainy night, when torrential rains flooded under the tents that peppered the outdoor dining space, those of us stationed to work there, looked at each other like “WTF, I need to work tonight,” (meaning I need to earn tonight). So we got to work.
The water ran so hard and fast through the crushed stone ground that it sheeted across the surface like a lake. Even the adventure diners were likely to bail (I’m proud to have coined that term while leading a quiet couple through waterlogged spaces to arrive under their tent, “we love folks like you, you are adventure diners!” They smiled and later gave a fat tip to their server, who was drenched.)
The worst case scenario can become an enviable adventure if you have that mindset, and are willing to call it as you’d like it.
We moved the work-stuffs to new places, shifted furniture fast and furiously, and our favorite guy Bo, started digging a canal that would move the water from the top of the incline along a single path to the property below. The crushed stone yielded and the water followed his trench to a better place. We marked it with chairs so no one would fall in. With a broom, I remember pushing gallons of water off cement and into the trench. Who would know a broom was for flood waters? Then we all grabbed our pens and wine openers and got the specials…
After that night, we all knew exactly what to do. And, it was never written down, nor codified.
Because, who would write a restaurant manual that says, “in heavy rains, dig a ditch”?
But what I can tell you is that this action was not a “top down” edict, which surely would have caused most folks known as staff to roll their eyes and refuse (as in, “I’m a server, and digging trenches is not in my job description!”). It was a survival mechanism, and a team work triumph. It was also the brilliance of a group of people with different skills that made eating outdoors in the rain a downright popular event.
Leaders lead. And every good business needs a bunch of them, no matter their designation on the org chart. Leaders see what’s needed, and do that for the good of the whole. And these kinds of folks don’t want titles, nor even public recognition, they just need to earn when they work because that’s why they typically take jobs to start with.
Have questions about your business? Would you like to share a few stories and identify the leaders in your midst? If you see them, treat them well. They’ll contribute to your vision and help things go well. Leaders love what’s good for the whole. Contact me to see if we can work well together.
FOOTNOTES & SUB-SUBTEXT 😉
