Reflections on Leadership 2

Me serving some friends having a good time. It was been a while since I have been all dressed up:)

In the last blog I wrote about vision, ongoing education and clear expectations. In this part I will look at two more elements of the Boiler Room program.

Feedback and Follow up

Part of many family meals included a talk about what went well and what went wrong in the previous service. We were given instructions on how to improve, and given compliments on when we did well. Sometimes the feedback was hard to receive, as the demands seemed unreasonably high, however, this clear communication became a motivator to achieve the goal.

We also received ongoing feedback throughout service. One example comes to mind. I came to the expediting counter and Chef asked me why I always touch my face or hair when a guest asks a question. I was unaware that I was doing this. Paul encouraged me to keep control of my hands to maintain the calm, collect and confident appearance. In truth, when I returned to my tables, I was quite self conscious, concerned about my hands, but in the end, through a lot of on going feedback from Paul, I was able to maintain appropriate posture throughout service.

Often without feedback, we are unaware of our errors and even more unaware of our skills. Once Paul said something like, “you are really good at selling this wine, why don’t you study something else and sell that.” Then he told be a bit about a bottle and challenged me to sell. This feedback built on a skill and not on a fault. The ongoing feedback can seem overwhelming at times, for both leaders and team members, but it promotes ongoing growth and prevents us from getting stuck. Providing feedback about what we are doing well promotes even more expressions of that skill.

The bar where we started our night and ended our night. It was a place where a lot of the world’s problems were solved.

Growth Through Graduation

The final element of leadership is a value that I believe is foundational to how Kulik led. This value is this: He believed that people who work at his restaurant should quit. He believed that if he wasn’t losing people, he wasn’t doing his job.

Now, let me clarify. The goal isn’t to make people mad, or overwhelm them, or drive them away.

The goal is to help people develop their skills, their passion and their vision, so that for some, the next logical step is to move on. For some, it is to move on and open their own space. For others it is to bring the knowledge and skills to another concept and help that concept grow. For people like me, it is to take the experience and apply it to other areas. The goal is that people who are a part of the Boiler Room program should become more skilled, more knowledgable, more passionate about their craft, than at any other program around.

Paul counted on losing people, but for him it is gain. Gain because people who are growing are benefiting his business.  Gain because people who are growing are bringing their best every day. Gain because people who are leaving, are to a degree, extending the values of the program. Gain because the community at large benefits from people creating new exciting projects.

Among Boiler Room alumni we have people who have moved on and helped develop outstanding bar and wine programs at other spots. Chefs who have expanded their skills beyond what Boiler Room could offer. We have people who have started their own dream restaurant. Others have gone on to work at some of the top rated places in the world. Others have stayed and continued to raise the standard of excellence and creative expression. This reproduction, not of Paul prototypes, but of people who are empowered and passionate, is certainly something that is desired of a leader.

Reflections on Leadership

 

I have worked with a number of leaders.

Each leader has been influential in my life in a number of positive ways. One place that stands out to me and in some ways has become a major reference point for me was my time at The Boiler Room in Omaha. I worked at the The Boiler Room Restaurant in Omaha for three years. There is plenty of information available online about the great restaurant. Paul Kulik, the executive chef, is a driving force behind the success of the restaurant. In this blog I will write about some of the leadership high points from my time working under Paul Kulik.

You can see me right underneath the light in the middle of the photo. Credit: http://www.boilerroomomaha.com/

Vision

When The Boiler Room opened the US economy was still reeling from the 2008 “financial crisis.” People were spending a bit more, but our price point was higher than average. The Boiler Room was also bringing a style of food and atmosphere to Omaha that was not necessarily normal. While many were excited about this, many people had to be convinced.

Every day, before we unlocked the doors and opened up for service, we had a meal together. During this meal, Paul would cast vision for the restaurant, give lectures on food, wine and service. Each day had a driving point, an application, and a challenge. Every day, a component of the vision was clearly communicated. We knew where we were and where we were going and what we needed to do to get there. While not directly related to leadership, I do believe that meal sharing is vital to the life of a team, a community, and a family. In Thailand, meal sharing is very important.

I believe this vision casting was instrumental in creating a buy-in among the staff. What we were doing was really hard. We worked for less money than what we could make elsewhere, and under more stressful circumstances. However, we all understood that we were a part of creating something transformative, something disruptive, something to be proud of. I bought in. A number of people worked at The Boiler Room longer than the average shelf life in restaurants, especially considering we weren’t making the kind of money people made down the street. I think it also helped that we were fed while listening to the vision:)

 

Ongoing Education

Part of the vision included being educated. As a learner, I loved this. Each day, Paul or Jesse (our master sommelier at the time) would give a wine lecture. We were expected to know and be able to speak confidently about all the major wine growing regions of the Old World, as well as to be able to identify characteristics of each region. We were expected to grow, even on our own time. We were provided with resources, inspiration and experience. I grew to love the story of the wine, the story of the food. Being able to talk about where the food came from, where the wine was made, and how each product was produced was a powerful source of identity for all of us (the satirical Portalandia makes fun of this in this episode.) The education component of The Boiler Room helped promote the atmosphere of excellence.

 

Clear Expectations

There was no mistaking what Paul Kulik wanted, especially from a service perspective. Executing his expectations was sometimes seemingly impossible, but we were never confused about what we where to do. Each service standard was clearly communicated, reinforced and always required. Not everybody could work in that environment. I think if I was full-time I probably would have cracked under the pressure. However, I learned how valuable it is for leaders to continually and consistently communicate the expectations and excellence. In the service industry, the personal satisfaction that comes with perfectly executing an evening of service is unmeasurable.

In the next blog I will look at a few more components of my time at The Boiler Room.