This article is from my list of nine surprising high performance lessons from Hell’s Kitchen. The show is chock full of swearing, apologies for any colourful language that finds its way in here.
Summary
Managers do not start their careers as managers, they make a leap from individual contributor to leader; to succeed their skill set needs to change and grow. Over the 18 seasons of Hell’s Kitchen (that are available on Amazon Prime) Mr. Ramsey grows in two key ways:
- He recognizes his position of power and stops being petty, or mean
- He learns the power of small, direct, interventions
Star performer to leader
A bonus of taking in 18 seasons of Hell’s Kitchen has been watching Gordon Ramsey grow as a leader.
In the early seasons Chef Ramsey behaves like a star individual performer who finally gets to tell other people anything he wants (including to fuck off).
Maybe you have seen this before: that great person is promoted and initially is a mess as a leader. No one does it their way! What’s wrong with these people?! I’m the boss so I can say what I want. Maybe you’ve even been this person.
For Chef, this showed up initially as being petty and mean, maybe in an effort to be funny while frustrated, or wanting to create a sink or swim environment. Sink or swim is very different (and less helpful) than having high, clear expectations. No matter the reason it was small, petty and showed poor leadership.
Rise above
Chef has grown.
Chef Ramsey is still a trickster. He loves a joke, a laugh. In the first few seasons he was confident, but petty -most of his jokes are at the expense of others. He makes fun of weight, height, and looks (and fucking cooking). When people are fired his one liners are more mean than funny (it being reality TV, these never get that nice).
He’s smart and he’s funny. So his petty jokes are solid, pointed, and mean. But they hurt performance and followership.
There is no place for a leader (or a comedian) to punch down.
Around season six (ish) Mr. Ramsey learns to rise above the easy joke, the put down. He stops making fun of people for who they are. This means no more jokes about height and weight (though you can see that for at least a few more seasons he still wants to).
He never stops swearing, or being himself.
He still insults people, but only as direct critics of their performance as contestant chefs (since they are trained chefs on a reality TV show this seems fair). He does this because he has high expectations of professional chefs, and all eyes are open. He learns to tell them to fuck off without belittling them (not a skill everyone can master).
As the seasons go on, contestants are always afraid of Mr. Ramsey’s sharp tongue, but it’s no longer because he will say something personal. It is because they know it will mean he is right, and they have made a mistake.
Exit with dignity
This is especially noticeable in eliminations. Chef becomes an expert at firing people. He is decisive and clear, leaving no room for doubt, all without putting anyone down. For those top performers who find it is time to leave he provides a real human connection, while still making it clear that this is the end. Firing people well is a talent; Mr.Ramsey learns to do this and it (along with many other things) leads to deep loyalty from the contestant chefs.
Small interventions go a long way
Mr. Ramsey gets better and better at delivering short, powerful, interventions to improve performance.
Development is missing from the first few seasons. As the show goes on, Chef begins to pull aside individuals to give them short, direct, bits of advice. Sometimes this is encouragement to keep doing what they are doing, sometimes it is a heads up that they need to change their trajectory. He spends one minute telling them something specific that they need to hear.
These short direct talks always have a positive impact. These few seconds of intentional attention from their leader mean the world to contestants. The person he connects doesn’t necessarily win the competition; they do turn around their performance, or step it up even more. So while they are not always skilled enough mentally or physically to make it to the end, the impact is always positive.
For a few seasons starting somewhere around season 11(?) Chef takes this further and does individual interviews with each contestant. He uses these moments to assess their perspective on the other contestants (a useful barometer when searching for a leader) and to give them each some individual advice. Again, the impact of these conversations is significant.
For leaders with regular one on ones it is worth remembering the impact they can have. For leaders who are higher up the chain, it is equally important to remember the outsized impact that just a few minutes of time with a front-line or junior employee can have.
It doesn’t take much to have a big impact.
It just takes focus.
Development
As the show goes on, Mr. Ramsey grows into a different, better, leader. Even those he has eliminated and called a donut will follow him.
We owe it to ourselves, and our organizations, to grow, to get better, and to help others do the same.
Great leaders know this and lead by example.
So, what are you working on?
I hope you enjoy this series of performance lessons from Hell’s Kitchen. If you have a comment, feedback, or idea add it below, shoot me an email, or send me a tweet.
Keep reading.
Ian