I’m almost finished with Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara, and it’s been a great read. Along with stories from his time in hospitality, he shares valuable leadership principles that helped make Eleven Madison Park the best restaurant in the world. I got the book two weeks ago from my dear friend Lisa, and it’s easily one of the best I’ve read this year. Highly recommend it to anyone interested in leadership.
Lisa and I share many things in common. We LOVE food. We are/were both Principals. We’re both from New Jersey (something that’s only really important to people from Jersey). We care deeply about people. We are students of leadership. We even share the same birthday – something I also share with two of my other closest friends, Karen and Rob (I love you guys).
As people who are invested in our own growth, we’re always encouraging each other with things we come across that we think will help the other’s development as a leader. That’s why Lisa shared this book with me. The foreword is written by Simon Sinek, and within it, he offers this thought:
Most people think of hospitality as something they do. Will thinks about service as an act of service – about how his actions make people feel. And he recognized that if he wanted his frontline teams to obsess about how they made their customers feel, he had to obsess about how he made his employees feel. The two cannot be separated: great service cannot exist without great leadership.”
Those words resonated deep within me, but I immediately wanted to rearrange that last sentence. It’s perfectly written within the context of the book, but as a standalone reminder about leadership, I’d write it this way:
Great leadership cannot exist without great service.
Getting back to my friend Lisa, she models this in her own leadership every day she steps on campus. Ultimately, she wants her students to be well-served and understands that it starts with her serving others. And so, Lisa serves.
She ensures her teachers have what they need to be successful by listening to them and following up with action. She empowers her students by valuing their feedback and learning their stories both in formal settings and as she walks the halls each day. She brings food to the people with whom she meets. She stops to pick up trash around campus. She looks for ways to highlight and affirm the work of others. And, she’s always thinking about how to grow and improve herself for the sake of others.
More than anything, Lisa understands that service is the heart of leadership. From that understanding and her powerful example, her team has created a strong campus culture and climate that allows people – both students and staff – to thrive.
As you lead this year, remember that it starts with service. Great leadership cannot exist without great service; so, look for opportunities to serve others and be committed to allowing your example to set the standard for what you want to see.
#ChooseToBeGreat
Angelo
CHOOSE TO BE GREAT 