5 Things Your Staff Wishes You’d Stop Doing

You think you're leading effectively, and you believe you're giving your team what they need. But what if I told you that your staff has a wish list of things that they wish you'd stop doing? Today, I'm revealing the top five things your staff is silently begging you to change. So let's dive in and elevate your leadership game. Hey. Donald Burns, the restaurant coach, author of the youe Restaurant Sucks trilogy and the creator of the Restaurant Coach Method. You know, being a leader in the restaurant business, it's far from easy. In fact, it's been said it's somewhat like kind of being a bull rider. Some days, you know, you ride the bull, and other days, the bull seems to ride you. Yet here you are, getting back out there day after day, going for another round with the beast. I mean, come on, you love the business deep down for all the good and bad that it offers. You even love the team that you have that you complain about. What? Complain? Me? Yes, you. Come on, don't play innocent. Your love for your team is at times a torrid affair that kind of has you watching episodes of CSI Crime Scene Investigations, wondering how you're going to dispose of a body. Well, here is some news that you might not be aware of. Your team probably has some similar thoughts about you as well. For all the good things you do as a leader, they have a kind of a list that your team keeps about all those little things that they really wish, deep down you would stop doing so in order to keep your team from plotting your death. I'm going to share them with you now. Now, take this list to heart, or risk ending up as a missing person on the side of a milk carton. Your choice. Number one, you're late more than they are. Nothing worse in the eyes of your team than a hypocrite. They really love when you say one rule for them and do your own thing. No, not really. The days of do what I say and not what I do are long gone. Leadership is about accountability. And that starts with, you guessed it, personal accountability. And that is on you. Your words and your actions must be aligned or you risk being called. Hate to tell you this, an asshole. Now, with the market saturated as it is, there are plenty of jobs open in your market right now. And. And being a jerk is not conducive to attracting, hiring, or retaining top talent. Being a jerk? Actually, what that does, it gets you the bottom feeders of the labor pool, because water does seek its own level. So it's time to stop talking a Good game with your team. And I hate to tell you this, actually step up to claim your spot as their leader. No more double talk, no white lies, no straight up bs. That you tell them why they can't do this or they can't do that or you can't do this, you can't do that. Sorry to break it too, but no one really cares about your problem. And the reason being is that they're too busy worrying about their own problems. That's right. You're not as special as you thought you were, no matter what your mom said to you. Number two, you play favorites even though you tell them that you don't. Now, if anyone has ever had a child, you know, kind of know where this is going. You always have a favorite team member and it's okay. It's actually natural. The key is to be very conscientious of this and not let it have a major impact on your effectiveness as the leader. The worst offense is that dreaded double standard. You have one set of standards for the team and you make clear, clear, you know, exceptions for your favorites. So let's say there's a hostess named Kayla and she's your favorite. Now, she routinely walks in. Let's say there's a hostess named Kayla who's your favorite and she regularly walks into work 15 to 20 minutes late and you never say a word to her. Now Sarah, on the other hand, comes in one time eight minutes late and you go into a 20 minute lecture of punctuality. See, the downside of this behavior the has a ripple effect on your culture. Soon Kayla is going to be alienated by the team because she's seen as one of your favorites. And then Kayla loses the social connection with the team and soon enough she becomes disengaged at work. Shortly after this happens, Kayla, who happens to be your favorite, gives her notice to leave. You see, great leaders are always aware of the social dynamics of the team. Number three, you leave when it gets busy. See, your banker hours just piss them off. Yes, I understand you've worked long and hard for your current executive position, but don't forget what got you there. It's not long hours and hard work. It's the way the team looked towards you as a leader. Now allow me to digress a little bit with a little rant about hard work. Here's the thing, you're not paid to work hard. You're paid for the results and impact you have on the brand. Saying that, and I hear this all the time, the saying I've paid my dues is a warning sign that you're about to discover mediocrity. See, success is not a one time payment. It's kind of like rent. And rent for success is due every damn day. I know quite a few general managers, director of operations, and even a few executive chefs that work in restaurants that actually serve lunch and dinner. Yet their hours that they're at work are usually like 8am to 4pm Why? I understand paperwork is kind of a big part of upper management, but it's presence and visibility that separates managers from leaders. Without a leader, the team tends to do kind of whatever they want to do. You know, being on the floor or in the kitchen during peak times is really critical to team success. They need a leader to look up to, someone to keep them focused, someone to keep the kind of panic under control when the rush comes in and all hell breaks loose. And here's the thing, if you're not the leader, then who? Now you might not like this next statement, but if you're not going to step out in front and be the leader, then why does an owner need you? If you're not working with your team to develop them to make them better, then you're actually dead weight on the payroll. Number four, you hide in the office. I'm telling you, it doesn't take eight hours to write a schedule. This one kind of really ties into the one I just talked about. You see, you can't hide in the office all day, say you're working on projects, when you're really just avoiding the team and the guest. You need to stop hiding from leadership. Step into it. So many people think, well, I guess more like assume that becoming a leader means less communication with a team and more time just to kind of kick back and dabble at work on the computer. Knock it off. That's not what leadership's about. Your team is out there working to ensure that guests are ecstatic and that the dining experience is impeccable. Or maybe they're not. See, you don't know what the pulse of your restaurant is if you're sitting in the office and allowing things just to kind of happen organically. Outstanding service is not organic. It's carefully crafted, orchestrated, and it's rehearsed. I mean, with the market overflowing with restaurant options, you better be out there training your team to be better than the competition. Because failure to do so consistently puts your brand at risk. If you want to really see how effective you are, then start a time journal for a week. Just kind of Jot down everything you do for the next week. And if you're brutally honest with yourself, you're going to really find yourself shocked at the amount of time you spend on tasks that really don't move your brand or your life forward. Kind of just spinning around and around like a hamster on a big giant wheel. And here's what happens. Eventually you either burn yourself out or you change jobs. And changing jobs either is voluntary or sadly, involuntary. And number five, and this is a big one, you're afraid to fire the slackers. Just step up and be the damn leader. I mean, right now, if you're honest, you probably have at least one person on your team that you should let go of. Your team knows it too. But by not stepping up and being the true leader, you create a tidal wave of negativity that runs through your culture. Here's what happens. The culture becomes toxic and selfish with every person looking out for their own. Well, being toxic, cultures just suck. No one wants to be there. The team is constantly fighting amongst themselves. Here's the thing, Guests might come in kind of just to watch the drama unfold. It's kind of like, you know, being on a real life reality TV show. They won't come back. So why don't you fire these people? It's because you're afraid. And that fear has you paralyzed from taking action. Being a leader means making tough decisions. It means facing the fear and taking action in spite of that fear. See, when you fail to act as a leader, you lose trust and respect from your team. And seriously, I mean, who really wants to follow someone that they can't really make a decision for what's best for the restaurant? Here's another little side bit. If you can't manage your own life, do you think your team really trusts you to run the restaurant? I mean, being a leader means being a positive example. Is that fair? No. But that's how life is. So deal with it. Now, the final question that needs to be asked is, what are you going to do with this information I just gave to you? Most people, I'll tell you honestly, most people will do nothing. But. But here's my thing. I sense that you're not like most people because you actually listen to the end of this video. So that shows you've got character. Now you need to get out there and make the changes. You need to get the restaurant and the life that you want. Make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. And if you're hunting for tangible tools to escape your restaurant team wanting to kill you. Then head over to therestaurantcoach.com there you're going to find a bunch of free tools and resources to to really help you become a leader who doesn't have to worry about their team plotting their demise. In my next video, we're going to tackle the question, is your restaurant acting like Godzilla and about to eat the city?