So I’m getting a promotion soon (yay!), moving up from just a line cook to sous-chef and I’ve only been with this company for a few months. Thing is that I’m still quite young (mid twenties) and will be the direct supervisor of some people a fair bit older than I am. Think 10-20 years older. It might just still be a bit of imposter syndrome, but the idea of having to tell people who have been in the business for far longer than I what to do and such really weirds me out.
I feel I wouldn’t like it if “some young brat” that just got hired almost immediately gets a promotion and becomes my supervisor eventhough I worked at the company for far longer. Though maybe not everyone feels like this.
Do other people who have experience with a situation like this have any advice on how to deal with this? It’s kinda been keeping me up at night…
I’ve never worked in a kitchen, and I’m sure it’s different than the office jobs I’ve done. But still, it’s important to remember that leadership is not about “telling people what to do” as you described it.
One of the easiest mistakes to make as a leader is assuming that your job is to always be in charge, to order people round, to maintain an air of authority. Sometimes yes, that’s needed, but in my experience it’s pretty rare.
Your job as a leader is to set direction, make sure people know what’s expected of them, make sure they have everything they need to do their job, and then stay out of their way. Especially if you’re leading people who are already experienced and know what they’re doing.
This is 100% correct. I’ll add that the best thing you can do is to watch and listen to your crew. Everyone has a job, yes, but they also play a role on your team. Understand what those roles are, how work actually flows around, and what motivates people. Be a servant that helps facilitate that structure.
Seriously, those people should already know how to do their jobs. They don’t need someone to tell them what to do. Though in a kitchen, there’s definitely a pecking order that needs to be respected, and when you do ask them to do something, they need to get on it ASAP, otherwise shit can go bad pretty quickly.
Yeah, thats very true. I’m still feel weird when I have to order people to do something (mostly stubborn dishwashers) and feel like a pick no matter what way I tell them
That’s some great advice. Thanks mate