Four and a Half Months of Leadership

The topic of Leadership was brought up in class and I began to think to myself where I had seen great leadership. Then I realized that I could talk about how I saw leadership everyday for four and a half months. My externship was a great experience that made me learn the true meaning of being a leader in the kitchen. When I arrived at my externship site, I was prepared for the worst. I had heard many stories about European chefs and how they manage their kitchens, and I was sure that my site was no exception. When I first arrived, I was astonished by how the executive chef handled different situations. Never had I ever seen a chef who had complete control over the kitchen but showed respect for his workers and seemed interested in what each cook had to say. When trying to come up with a solution he would always gather us around and would ask us what we thought was best. Then he would come up with a solution to the situation. The important thing about that would be that he wanted to hear from us what we thought was best and I cherished that very much because not to many chefs care what you have to say. A great leader always listens to his group then makes a decision depending on what the group and he have come up with. I was glad to have such a great experience with having a great leader in the kitchen. Having a good leader in the kitchen is also important because it gives you someone to look up to and it pushes you to become better. You always want to have the desire to become a great leader some day and the best way is to have a great example.