A few weeks back, I was speaking to a friend in the industry and asked what her biggest challenge was as a Director of Operations in a Multi-Unit Organization, and she said empowering their employees to act like owners. I have a client in Tucson who owns two businesses in food and beverage, and is expanding, who is struggling with the same thing.

These conversations have made me take a hard look back at my career and those around me who rose up to become leaders in the industry. They had one thing in common: they were empowered.

I have worked with many leaders during my career who have learned the art of empowering people; it takes time, trust, practice and guidance. During my time in management, I have always sought out the next supervisor, AGM, Executive Chef, GM, Sous Chef or Regional Manager. In many one-on-ones with the management teams I have led, I commonly asked the question: “Who is next on the bench?” Building a bench of leaders within any organization is essential to keeping your culture alive in a local organization—in my opinion.

I am currently reading the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara and resonate with his mindset, approach to hospitality, taking care of guests, and empowering his people. In Chapter 10, Will talks about how he strengthened his team and the guest experience by identifying people among his team who were passionate about different aspects of the restaurant.

He put someone in charge of the beer program who was just 21 years old. He also put someone in charge of CGS (China, Glass and Silverware), who changed out their glass racks and reduced the cost of glass by cutting down on breakage. Furthermore, he put someone in charge of their coffee, wine and cocktail programs to ensure that the quality of beverages perfectly complemented the quality of food being prepared in the kitchen.

I haven't finished reading the book, but I can only imagine that this empowerment of employees led to an enhanced experience in every area of the restaurant and increased trust, communication, employee engagement, retention, and loyalty.

One of my favorite personal stories of empowerment is about an incredible bartender and human, Adam Hodak. Adam was hired to be part of the opening team with me at Osteria Marco in 2007. Adam was described to me as a high-volume "beer and shot" bartender. Something sparked in Adam, while working at Osteria, and he started learning about classic cocktails and molecular gastronomy. Adam would play around with different ingredients, taste the staff on new cocktails for the menu, inspire other bartenders to create drinks, and create custom cocktails for our guests. Adam started participating in cocktail competitions, lighting up our palates with hot, spicy peppers whenever he could.

Adam went on to become the Beverage Director for Bonanno Concepts, became a Managing Partner and now owns his own bar in Denver called The L. 

Adam was not the bar manager at Osteria; he was a bartender who was passionate about learning more about cocktails, and we gave him the space and encouragement to do so.

If you are sitting at the table with your leaders asking, “Who is on the bench?” and they say “no one,” then I would call bullshit. Your leaders are either; not asking the right questions, having the right conversations with their team, or there is a bigger issue. Everyone has something to offer this world, and I bet if you spent 30 minutes getting to know that employee on a personal level, you would discover what that is and make your organization better.

What would your organization look like if you empowered your team to think like owners?