Being the Boss

We as culinary students dream of the day that we can own our own restaurant. The ideas that we have developed through learning and specific assignments geared towards just that purpose, have the majority of us thinking we will be ready for this. What no amount of training can prepare a person for is simple; an individual must have a take-charge personality. This does not mean you stand around and give orders, push people around or bully anyone with your rank. What it means is, you lead by example, you are the first one in and the last one out, you do not leave the hard or dirty jobs for someone else. You do them. You make sure your employees know that you do them. Only then can you expect them to do them and to do it without complaint. I have seen plenty of want to-be leaders in my lifetime that are not leaders, they are bosses because their bossy. I do not want to be the boss. I want to be the leader. The definition for a leader is a person who rules, guides, or inspires others. That is who I want to be, a person who inspires others.