Chapters one and two of this book have raised a lot of past experiences for me. Last year I was the group leader, and so I took on a working supervisory roll. It was a much harder roll to play than I expected. Being in school has its own set of challenges, add on top of that the fact that you are trying to pass orders from the chef down to your class mates, and your class mates up to the chef. Don’t forget trying to maintain whatever scraps of friendships you can and enjoy the college life.
Now granted, the real world is much differnet than college, but there are still many similiarities. I believe this is a class meant for B-block, before studnts reach the point of voting in a group leader. That would allow for two things. One, any students who might be interested in being a leader an idea of how to go about his or her position, and two a chance for everyone else in the class to have a reasonable set of expectations from someone who is still learning themselves.
To me, no one leadership style that is right. A leader needs to have a combination of all four styles. Autocratic during times of service, Bureaucratic with new employees, or employees who maybe don’t speak your naitive language, Democratic when planning menus, events, and big decision making, and Laissez-faire when you have book work to do and you can trust the rest of the staff to do their jobs well.
I wish I had learned more about how to be a strong leader a few months ago, might have saved me a lot of torture.
Mike, I do agree with you observation of when this class is given. It would be a good class for B-block and give some insight to new students wanting leadership roles. But I also think you learn a lot about leadership from making mistakes and learning from them. Think about all the information you have learned from last year in september until now. It is incredible how much we learn on a daily basis. We can remember the past and grow from it or we can remember the torture it was being in a situation you were not prepared for. Personally, I want to think of how we can grow from every difficult situation. Hindsight is 20/20 but we don't always have the luxury of hindsight. Think of how you can take this situation and make improvements before you have a leadership position after graduation.
ReplyDelete"The past is of no importance. The present is of no importance. It is with the future that we have to deal. For the past is what man should not have been. The present is what man ought not to be. The future is what artists are." Oscar Wilde
Rachel you are absolutely right, and I do not regret my decision to be group leader at all. It was a great learning experience for me that I do not think i would have received anywhere else. However I think that students will still make mistakes, even if this course was taught in B block. You will never get something done the right way the first time, no matter how many times you are taught how to do it. You need to try it for yourself. However learning the basics before going into any position makes it just little easier and you can recall what you learned and apply it. That's why we are in this field. We do not like being told how to do something and then move on. We like getting our hands dirty, doing the work ourselves, it is how we learn.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a tremendous struggle that was taken on your part before learning the ideas in the management class. The torture, scraps of friendship you've sought out for, or high expectations others demanded have obviously been troublesome over your first year at The Culinary.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel, its tremendously important to promote growth and learn from mistakes made. There were underlining ideas within her message that were to not dwell on past mistakes, as mistakes are the best tools of learning. Remember that the legitimate power that comes with "being a leader", "taking on a working supervisory roll", or "learning about how to be a strong" does not make the leader. Working smart and fast is good. Leading by example is better. Blanketing the kitchen with enough authority so that the kitchen knows your presence, steps within your boundaries, and working toward the common goal of delivering serious food, in an effective manner is why were here. Were not in this industry to get our "hands dirty". If we were professionals, we would keep our hands clean, and our work-space clean. Were not here to "not like being told how to do something and move on", were here to learn from one another especially the people who have the experience under their belts to teach us the way they've effectively learned and applying it ourselves, rather than just "moving on". We don't "work ourselves" we work as a team, and THAT is how we learn.
Levi, although you make many valid points, you are reading way too deep into what i am saying. You can not take my writing so literal. :getting your hands dirty" merely means doing the work, weather it be prep or sautee, not actually being dirty or messy. When I said "doing the work ourselves" does not mean literally, alone, with no one else, it means being able and confident enough to finish a task at hand and knowing how to complete it, sure someone from your TEAM may help you, but you have the confidence to know what you are doing. I also said how we do NOT like being told how to do something and move on, we like to apply what we are taught, over and over again.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate criticism when it applies, however please criticize me for the right things, not common phrases that are not meant to be taken literally. No one can learn from that.