You know, I don't hear enough of the "battle scars" here in SMB land.
I want to encourage us to talk about the bad stuff in operating businesses more.
Here is a short story to kick it off...
🚨Spoiler - I f@cked up with an employee
🧵
I want to encourage us to talk about the bad stuff in operating businesses more.
Here is a short story to kick it off...
🚨Spoiler - I f@cked up with an employee
🧵
A couple of years ago we had a Head Chef in our kitchen that was known to fly off the handle from time to time.
This is normal in the kitchen environment
I don't like this personality trait in chefs, but I have had to accept it to a certain extent.
This is normal in the kitchen environment
I don't like this personality trait in chefs, but I have had to accept it to a certain extent.
Time goes on...
I realize this chef's fits were getting more frequent and their work performance was slowly degrading.
Long story short, their work performance wasn't degrading enough for me to instantly jump into action.
I realize this chef's fits were getting more frequent and their work performance was slowly degrading.
Long story short, their work performance wasn't degrading enough for me to instantly jump into action.
I made the decision to ignore (Don't do this)
For context: the catering company runs very lean with minimal redundancy in staff. So, losing this person would hurt for several months.
I was afraid of discussing my concerns with this chef because I didn't want to lose them.
I was afraid of discussing my concerns with this chef because I didn't want to lose them.
Unfortunately, the poor behavior continued.
I know...Surprise surprise
It finally reached a boiling point for the team when this chef blew up and started ranting about how good they are and how "terrible" the team is blah blah blah...
I know...Surprise surprise
It finally reached a boiling point for the team when this chef blew up and started ranting about how good they are and how "terrible" the team is blah blah blah...
This was my moment, I was going to shift my mindset as a leader and tackle this head on.
So I prepped for a talk with the chef by:
Documenting the problem
Discussing with other employees
Creating a write-up system
So I prepped for a talk with the chef by:
Documenting the problem
Discussing with other employees
Creating a write-up system
As I just took over at this company, I was slow to implement some of these processes because I had a tendency to work IN the business and not ON the biz.
The problem:
I decided to introduce this new employee accountability system, especially for this chef.
This went over like a lead balloon.
I decided to introduce this new employee accountability system, especially for this chef.
This went over like a lead balloon.
I was called a hypocrite for calling this chef out when so many other employees have "gotten away" with things without a write-up or coaching session.
The discussion turned into an employee yelling at me and threatening me for 10-15 minutes before I ended the convo.
The discussion turned into an employee yelling at me and threatening me for 10-15 minutes before I ended the convo.
What should have been a write up and/or a (difficult) but productive discussion turned into a yelling match.
The chef quit the next day.
The chef quit the next day.
The problem is they were correct...
I was introducing a new accountability system for all employees but this chef only saw it as a "witch hunt" targeted at them.
I was introducing a new accountability system for all employees but this chef only saw it as a "witch hunt" targeted at them.
I created this situation by ignoring a small problem early.
I degraded my reputation by not tackling this fast. Being a new leader in the company, I should've been more concerned with my trustworthiness and ability to lead.
It's not all about just getting more work done!
I degraded my reputation by not tackling this fast. Being a new leader in the company, I should've been more concerned with my trustworthiness and ability to lead.
It's not all about just getting more work done!
After this incident I was left with:
💣No head chef
💣Degraded leadership reputation
💣Lower team morale
💣A recruiting problem
💣No head chef
💣Degraded leadership reputation
💣Lower team morale
💣A recruiting problem
What I did have was an OPPORTUNITY
Opportunity to improve as a leader
Opportunity to improve hiring practices
Opportunity to create accountability
Opportunity to change
Opportunity to improve as a leader
Opportunity to improve hiring practices
Opportunity to create accountability
Opportunity to change
see, it's not about preventing problems and f@ck ups...
As a leader, you WILL screw things up!
It's all about how you handle these instances.
As a leader, you WILL screw things up!
It's all about how you handle these instances.
Make no mistake, I handled this situation WRONG
But I did a few things right:
✅I owned it
✅I didn't shy away from accountability
✅I debriefed with the team
✅I focused on how I needed to change
But I did a few things right:
✅I owned it
✅I didn't shy away from accountability
✅I debriefed with the team
✅I focused on how I needed to change
After licking my wounds and feeling bad for myself, I matured as a leader.
I shifted from "how much work can we get done?"
to
"How can I develop and maintain a rockstar team that will get a ton of work done and enjoy doing it?"
I shifted from "how much work can we get done?"
to
"How can I develop and maintain a rockstar team that will get a ton of work done and enjoy doing it?"
As a leader, you are a "fixed point" for your team.
You're there to support and develop.
And when things get tough, you roll up your sleeves to help without question.
You're there to support and develop.
And when things get tough, you roll up your sleeves to help without question.
You CANNOT ignore problems and you must do the hard things because they are hard!
Take it from me, a small problem becomes unbearably huge very quickly.
Tackle things when they're small.
Take it from me, a small problem becomes unbearably huge very quickly.
Tackle things when they're small.
Some key takeaways:
🔑You are human
🔑Own your mistakes
🔑Don't panic
🔑Focus on solutions
🔑Recognize when you need to change
#entrepreneur #ETA #smallbusiness
🔑You are human
🔑Own your mistakes
🔑Don't panic
🔑Focus on solutions
🔑Recognize when you need to change
#entrepreneur #ETA #smallbusiness
If you enjoyed this story of hard-won lessons as a budding leader, give it a like and retweet the first tweet in the thread below 👇👇
Follow me for posts about buying and operating businesses. Some pilot stuff too!
Follow me for posts about buying and operating businesses. Some pilot stuff too!
https://twitter.com/jacubwilliamson/status/1609610663357300736
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