Leadership: Navigating mental Challenges as Chef Leader
This week I wanted to focus on continuing to improve yourself as a leader and as an individual who keeps their emotions in check when times are tough. We are all affected by human emotions in one way or another. Whether good or bad, these are obstacles we need to navigate in our professional lives. We can be envious of those in our industry, resistant to change, overly passionate, and overly emotional. While these behaviors tend to drag us down from time to time, we can also capitalize on these emotions and create positives!
Tips to deal with Envy
Envy is an incredibly tough emotion in the food industry, and in one’s everyday life as well. In the food industry envy can be everywhere. You see other professionals achieving your goals, getting awards, and making the food you want to cook.
It's important to destroy envy before envy destroys you. One way to help do this is to work on your sense of self-worth and to leave out the incessant comparisons.
If you constantly are chasing the position someone else has, or are chasing where someone else is, you’re going to find yourself mentally in the gutter a lot.
One tip I have been personally working on is developing a sense of Mitfreude
What is Mitfreude?
Mitfreude is enjoyment derived from someone else’s fortune or luck.
Instead of immediately thinking “wow that’s nice, I wish I had that” or “wow good for them, could never be me” I started replacing those thoughts with joy.
It's also a skill that takes time to practice! You can work on it bit by bit every day.
When your coworker says, “hey I got invited to do a really exciting demo!” This can elicit a few responses: Envy, joy, and even embarrassment that maybe you weren’t the one to be selected for the demo.
As you find yourself saying “Congrats! Let's celebrate” and genuinely being happy, your mind begins to feel all of the happy chemicals with it. Over time you can eliminate envy and find yourself in a more serene place mentally day to day
This is a fascinating topic, please look into it if you’re someone who needs help comparing themselves to others or if you often feel envious!
Limit Large Emotional Responses
In kitchens we deal in realism every day. Things are black and white, the numbers are what they are, and the faster you can analyze the data presented to you, the easier it is to find solutions.
When we see things that are subpar it is easy to fly off the handle. Yell, throw things etc. as chef’s have been noted for over the years.
These large emotional responses scare our staff and create an environment that is not conducive to growth.
Read the numbers. Teach your staff the numbers, techniques and healthy coping mechanisms and you will see growth trend upwards!
There is only so much time and energy in a day. In competitions chefs have every single movement down so nothing is wasted
Don’t waste your energy on the drama of others, it only takes away from your strengths.
Consider it like resistance training in the gym. The longer you let the emotional response mellow, the longer you can resist reacting. Your mind will become stronger, and your mental reflection will produce better results.
Emotional responses are also not consistent with your staff and confuses them on what to expect.
Balance Emotions When Receiving Feedback
Emotions will present themselves whenever we feel we are personally being attacked. In reality, the person giving feedback is generally talking about a skill that can be improved upon.
We need to be between reality and imagination when feedback comes our way. Your imagination will keep you on a creative track and the reality of the situation will help you stay grounded and connected to your audience.
Navigating mental challenges as a leader is one of the most tiring parts of the job. Stress, emotions, and general health factors can limit us from reaching our true potential. There is no shame in seeking professional help mentally, and there is no shame setting a boundary if you need some space. We as chefs need to take care of ourselves mentally or our physical work will suffer. Misshapen dices, broken sauces, burnt ribeyes. Not just because you were physically tired, but because you may have been emotionally vacant. Be insightful, be open and help one another!
Have a great week
Stephen
