As I had mentioned in another article, half of what I learned about leadership came from watching cooking shows, particularly cooking competitions. This article is about one of my favorite examples.
The competition
Multiple contenders were battling to become the winner. On the last episode, the two finalists were going head to head. Each had one hour to prepare their 5-course meals for the judges. As a bonus, each could use up to 15 minutes of the top runner up’s time as their sous chef.
One finalist
First, the finalist asked the sous chef to dice some onions. I wonder why they needed a world class chef serving as their sous chef to dice onions, but that’s beyond me. Next, they asked the sous chef to julienne some bell peppers. Lastly, they asked the sous chef to slice some celery. Only then the sous chef realized they were making a mirepoix (or “holy trinity”), which is the base of Cajun and Creole cuisine.
My observations:
- I know how to dice onions, julienne bell peppers, and slice celery. You don’t need a world class renowned chef for that.
- You don’t just throw onions, bell peppers, and celery together and call it a mirepoix. There’s a ratio of these ingredients to properly make a mirepoix, and even so, the ratio may change depending on the dish you’re making. Also, there are secret family recipes. The sous chef never knew what the intent was.
- The sous chef merely did what was asked of them without adding to the endeavor.
- After completing each task, the sous chef had to interrupt the chef asking what the next task was.
The other finalist
The chef simply said, “Please make me a lemon risotto.” They spent a few moments discussing strategy, whether a lemon risotto was the best addition, what the spice and sweetness levels should be, and that’s it. The sous chef knew exactly what to do and spent the rest of the allotted time working on it.
My observations:
- The chef and sous chef explored ways of incorporating the dish into the meal.
- The sous chef was able to add their skills, experience, and abilities into their work, therefore improving on the final product.
- The chef was able to continue their work without interruptions.
- It was a very effective way of using everyone’s talents and maximizing the use of their time.
Who won?
As far as the competition goes, one of them won, but I don’t remember who. I’m sorry for keeping you in suspense.
As an audience member, I won. The very same addition was offered to both team leaders and they both leveraged it to their liking, but one of them micromanaged the resource while the other one empowered the resource to operate on their own and make decisions to help improve the product. I won because I learned new ways of leading (not managing) my team. Whenever people ask me about my management style, my answer is the same: “I never tell my team what to do, unless it’s really necessary; instead, I show them where we need to go, work with them to find the best path, and keep motivating them along the way.”