Leadership lessons, restaurant People and life.

A few months ago, I found myself with a good amount of unscheduled free time. Like many people, my company’s plans for growth were slowed by the pandemic and my position was eliminated.

I've spent the past 40+ years in the restaurant industry, with the last 30 years focused on training and leader development. I’ve studied leadership and adult learning extensively and am an expert in my field. All that said, if you were to take my work and boil it down to one simple explanation, I’m in the people business.

My mother always said the restaurant business was like a bad marriage. No matter how unhealthy or abusive, my love for it persevered. Hospitality and restaurants are fun work, but what I really love are restaurant people.

Restaurant people are an amazing breed of humans. They are motivated, team-driven, have the stamina of a runaway train, and an enormous capacity to care for others. If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant you know the people are unique. It takes just the correct genetic make up of crazy and grit to stick with it. The hours are incredibly long. You work almost every major holiday. You are never off on weekends (even if you are). And, the career trajectory is a prickly pathway filled with hard life lessons and ambiguity. I could literally write a book on many extraordinary women and men I’ve met along the way.

Don’t get me wrong, I love non-restaurant people too. With my newly found free time I’ve had the opportunity to observe non-restaurant people in their natural habitat. I’ve started recognizing the parallels of leadership and learning in other walks of life.

My question to the universe: What are the lessons people need to hear and how do they apply to just about everyone?

Opportunities are everywhere. Most often, they are free. In this moment, the opportunity I am taking is to be a keen observer. Most often a women-of-action I don’t always take that big step back to see the forest through the trees. I get that I should be scared and panicked and picking up shifts at the local Applebee’s, but opportunities aren’t about “should.” What would my life be if I committed to share these lessons learned over a lifetime invested in other people development? I choose to make the most of this moment.

Opportunity Lesson: Make the most of every opportunity.

Which is what I'm sayin...