Leadership Lessons from Gordon Ramsay
Right now I am reading Gordon Ramsay’s autobiography, “Humble Pie.” Gordon Ramsay, is a world-renowned chef, but is known more for his temper flares, pot throwing, foul mouth, and demand for perfection in the kitchen than anything else. Gordon can be seen weekly on the Food Network in the show called Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares where he spends one week with a struggling restaurant, whipping it into shape. He holds no punches back as he dives in, guns blazing. Many people will look at Ramsay’s leadership style and cringe. The interesting thing however, is that in Ramsay’s worldwide empire of restaurants he has a retention rate of 85%. In a generation where soft skills are becoming increasingly essential, how is it that a boss who is more likely to swear at you for an overdone Beef Wellington than to praise you for your efforts, has a retention rate higher than most companies?
There are two reasons many chefs would love to work for Gordon Ramsay. One is his passion, and the other is he is excellent at what he does.
Passion and competence make a potent cocktail of inspiration. As for competence, Chef Ramsay knows his stuff. He is one of the best in the world at what he does. Reading his biography, you can see why. The man remained a student as long as he could. He would work his way up in one kitchen, only to quit so he could start all over again at the bottom in someone else’s kitchen. More than once he would go from the guy in charge of a kitchen to sweeping floors in someone else’s, just to learn more about his craft. This commitment to his own education has paid off and now aspiring chefs want to learn from him. When you are excellent at your job, other high achievers will be drawn to you. People will even forgive you for a few rough edges if you are a stand out in your field. Of course as managers, we should all aspire to excel in the art and science of leadership.
Regarding passion, the man is on fire about food; because his passion runs so deep he can’t help but have high standards. He demands perfection. If you ever watch Kitchen Nightmares you will see a predictable cycle. It goes like this:
Ramsay meets the restaurant’s chef who is lacking passion and doing a lack luster job. Ramsay confronts chef on the quality of his or her food and demands a higher standard if they want to call themselves a chef. The chef gets angry and defends their mediocre efforts. Ramsay however, is relentless and through it all he somehow inspires the chef to recommit to excellence and regain their passion.
Although Ramsay also helps the rest of the restaurant with logistics, his main focus is on the cook. It’s as if he cannot understand why a paid chef is not passionate about making great food. Ramsay’s commitment to excellence - apart from his swearing - is inspiring. It is the reason why many aspiring chefs would chop off a finger just to train under the man.
Passion is amazing. When we lack it we are never at our best. When we are fueled by it, we can do things we never thought possible. If you lead people, you need to be passionate about your role. In fact, leading others is one of the highest callings a person can have during their lifetime. I’ll bet you can name all of the bosses you have ever worked for, but you cannot name all of your coworkers. You can probably name all of your coaches from sports as a child, but you cannot name all of your teammates. There is something about the leaders who have been a part of our life. They impact us, they affect us, and they become forever a part of our life story. In the same way, those who have had authority over you have left their mark; you are leaving a mark on those you lead right now. What kind of leader do you want to be remembered as by your employees?
When you come to work there is always a long list of to-do’s, tasks, and meetings, but remember that the most important thing you will do each day is lead people. When you get out of your car each morning before work you have to get your mind ready. You have to remind yourself that today you will affect others, and that as a leader, people will give a certain amount of trust to you. Don’t minimize it, don’t waste it, and don’t think it a trivial matter. Take what has been given to you and do your very best to lead, to inspire, to motivate, and to equip. When you are passionate about leading others, you become a better manager because you raise your standards for yourself. Your renewed enthusiasm will light a fire within your employees and you won’t even have to throw as much as a frying pan.
