Richard Weil, owner and principal at National Restaurant Consultants, has been leading organizations and teams for the better part of four decades. Being a student of the industry, Richard has seen and witnessed what great leadership is all about. It is easy to spot in a recent article from the chancellor of the University of Houston—Richard’s alma mater—Dr. Renu Khator, one of the great academic leaders throughout the US and for that matter the world.
Dr. Khator shares a story of befriending a Spanish-speaking custodian at her university. Khator writes,
I had seen her a few times before but every time I tried to make eye contact, she looked away. She would walk shyly behind her cleaning supply cart and we would be like two strangers crossing paths in the hallway — I with my heavy, steady and long steps and she with her soft, gentle and short steps. That day too, I passed by her, then stopped and walked back. “Hi, how are you?” Like a few times before, she looked the other way and moved toward the wall, but I persisted. “What is your name? I have seen you a couple of times before. You are new here, right?”
From that small, friendly interaction, something surprising happens. The woman, Lupe, begins to teach Dr. Khator Spanish. She begins to point to items on her cart, and later, she stops by Dr. Khator’s office, showing up with lessons. Taken by the opportunity and Lupe’s persistence, Dr. Kator found herself extra-motivated to keep learning.
She says, “So [there I was]—the same person who could never find time to learn Spanish—memorizing Lupe’s words while on the treadmill and while walking my dog. Now, I see Spanish words everywhere around me. How had I not noticed them before?”
Inspired by Dr. Kator’s stories of leadership, Richard notes, “Leadership is not about how hard you can push your team. It’s about how well you understand them.” He shares how a friend recently overheard a conversation in first class that stuck with him—not because of what was said, but because of what it revealed. “A leader, traveling comfortably, was asking a direct report to jump on a call before their early morning flight, because they couldn’t make one the night before after landing at 11:30pm.” Richard adds, “This isn’t life-or-death work. It’s not combat. It’s not a trauma unit. It’s business. And business is built on people. The higher you rise, the more important it becomes to stay grounded.”
How can a good leader do this? “Know how your team travels. Know how they rest. Know what they juggle—and lead accordingly. Great leaders create space, not strain. Ask yourself: would I make this request if I were in their shoes? If the answer is no, then it’s not leadership. It’s ego.”
During these interesting times with multiple external pressures, remembering that even with the use of AI, ChatGPT or other automated applications, we still need to engage as humans. In the foodservice and hospitality industry, we are still people serving people through people.