Building community fosters a sense of belonging. Team members feel safe to be themselves while working towards common goals (Northouse, 2016, p.229). Building a community is hard in a kitchen. Prep cooks start work before the sun rises and never meet the majority of the cooks that start in the evening. To fix this I try to cross-train my team as much as possible. I\u2019ll bring a young cook in on a Saturday morning to work with the prep team. By learning each others responsibilities their relationship grows and they become more empathetic when issues arise.<\/p>\n
Northouse (2016) states, \u201cEmpathy is \u201cstanding in the shoes\u201d of another person\u201d (p.227). I\u2019ve worked every position in my kitchen from prep to closing shifts. Throughout my training process I was able to develop empathy for my team members and I became more understanding of how the roles worked together. If they are struggling to complete a task I can offer better advice or simply roll up my sleeves and help. My greatest responsibility as their leader is to make sure they can do their jobs properly.<\/p>\n
Listening improves the relationship between leader and follower. When a leader listens, they empower the follower (Northouse, 2016, p.227). I can tell when I listen to the ideas of my young cooks they get excited. The open dialogue builds our relationship and they know they can trust me. However, I struggle to practice this principle consistently. We have a team of thirsty and sometimes our schedules don\u2019t overlap for weeks. This can make it difficult for me to listen and communicate with them.<\/p>\n
How can I ensure I\u2019m listening to my team members and effectively communicating with them when our paths do not cross on a regular basis?<\/p>\n
References<\/p>\n
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice\u00a0<\/em>(7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Building community fosters a sense of belonging. Team members feel safe to be themselves while working towards common goals (Northouse, 2016, p.229). Building a community is hard in a kitchen. Prep cooks start work before the sun rises and never meet the majority of the cooks that start in the evening. To fix this I … <\/p>\n