Sometimes you just want to hear “Yes, Chef!”

Or, What “Hell’s Kitchen” Can Teach Us About Workplace Communication.

Watching Hell’s Kitchen always makes me think that chefs must have a higher tolerance for verbal abuse than other professions. After all, I don’t think I would take too kindly to someone walking into my office calling me a donkey or taking the files off of my desk and “chucking them into the bin.” (But let it be stated that Chef Ramsay is welcome in my library any time!)

On Hell’s Kitchen, once you take away all of the conventions that come along with being on a reality elimination competition (unreasonable time constraints, team members voting each other off, last minute twists in the competition that turn task at hand into an impossible feat) you’re left with a bunch of people trying to showcase their talents. At least at the start of the competition they work as teams with a common goal: finish a dinner service without incurring the wrath of the head chef. It is clear from the start that clear lines of communication are essential to reach this goal.

After all, what happens if the chef asks for three orders of beef wellington and you come to the pass with only two? If you’ve seen the show, then you know what happens and it just isn’t pretty. You better believe that those two lovely beef wellington dishes are not going out to the customers. The chef is mad, the customers are hungry, and there’s about $80 worth of dinner in the “bin.”

So, in Chef Ramsay’s kitchen, when he calls out an order the contestants yell back, “Yes, Chef!” to let him know they heard his instructions. Since I do not often frequent fine dining establishments, I’m not sure if this is common practice. But it seems like a good idea, doesn’t it?

So, what can we do to implement the “Yes, Chef” model in our own lives?  Technology can help us get that "message received" confirmation.  By asking staff to consistently use tools like out-of-office responses in email or voice mail we can clarify to others that their requests might not be addressed immediately.  It's also helpful when coworkers acknowledge requests with a simple response confirming they received the request and are working on it.

Setting clear expectations and practicing active listening can go along way.  And it doesn't hurt to hear a "Yes, Chef" once in a while, even if you're a librarian.

Reality TV… Really???

Well, why not? Shouldn’t we look for inspiration and insight anywhere we can get it? If you’re like me, you probably spend a long day at work then come home and want to decompress a bit. Even though these shows are billed as reality, we all know they are opportunities for escapism. After all, how many of us live like a Bravo housewife (and come on, last time I checked housewives were married) or have an opportunity to leave our real lives behind for two months to live in a house with 12 strangers while cameramen record our every move from inside the walls?

Again, if you’re like me, you flip through the channels and see the train wrecks coming a mile away and stop flipping to see the aftermath. Then there are those moments of Zen and you celebrate the victories of the people who deserve to win the competition (you know you dialed that phone over and over for your favorite idol... Don’t deny it!).

So let’s not make it a colossal waste of time… There are lessons that can be learned from these shows and the “characters” who play out their flaws, ambitions, and aspirations right before our eyes. If we focus on what can be learned there are nuggets of advice that we can use to help us manage our staff, our resources, and ourselves.

I just want to make one clarification: I manage a very small staff and they are in no way my inspiration for this blog. I’m writing about management in the broadest sense of the word. I’m not going to work wearing a WWJLD bracelet* or voting staff members out of the office. But I do think that observing people in a variety of situations with varying levels of stress is the best way to predict behavior in the people in our everyday lives. Get your inspiration wherever you might be… As it just so happens when I'm not at work I’m usually on the couch watching reality TV.

* What Would Jeff Lewis Do?