viral series "The Bear" teaches lessons on leading the team you inherit
Heads up: This article contains spoilers.
It’s never easy being the new boss. But an inspired leader can rally the team behind a new vision. That’s one of the many lessons painted in beautiful detail in the Hulu series, The Bear. The show offers a raw, unromanticized portrayal of the challenges of taking over a team someone else assembled, and the hard-learned strategies for moving forward together. While the setting for this business lesson is a chaotic restaurant kitchen, entrepreneurs and executives in any industry should take note.
Carmy is a Michelin-star chef who returns home when he inherits the family’s sandwich shop, Original Beef of Chicagoland, after his brother Mikey’s suicide. Viewers meet a cast of characters mourning the loss of their old boss, gripping tightly to the way things have always been, and begrudging Carmy’s attempts to turn the place around, despite - or maybe because of - his fancy accolades.
This “holy sh*t, how can I work with these people?” dilemma will feel familiar to anyone who has inherited someone else’s team.
Filling your predecessor’s shoes comes with real stress, whether you are selling foie gras, Italian beef, or the hottest new widgets. That stress might come from fading customer loyalty, inefficient processes, excessive costs, or staff who seem to cause more problems than they solve.
For Carmy – aside from the personal demons related to not saving his brother from self-destruction - the stress is a restaurant saddled with $300,000 in debt and Beef veterans who are resistant to change. Especially the quasi-manager, “cousin” Richie, and Tina, the decades-long veteran line cook who pretends not to speak English in an effort to ignore requests and recommendations. The old guard wants everything to stay the same, even though old-boss Mikey’s leadership was marked by debt and disorder, and business collapse seems imminent.
Sound familiar? Think this fictional family business is doomed? Keep reading.
Carmy quickly makes one new hire: Sydney. She comes asking for a job and he brings her on as a sort of intern. She shines. Before long, she’s promoted to sous chef - Carmy’s deputy. Syd will manage the kitchen team while Carmy gets a handle on the books. On the surface, maybe Carmy’s takeover of the place would have been easier if he fired Mikey’s most obstinate people and replaced them with loyal newbies. But that choice would have damaged morale, bled institutional knowledge, and prevented the opportunity for Carmy (and Sydney) to grow into their leadership roles. Not to mention a restaurant can’t sell sandwiches without a kitchen staff.
That last point is especially relevant for nearly all businesses in today’s super-tight labor market. Finding new all-star employees isn’t as easy as putting up a “Help Wanted” sign. There is stiff competition for skilled workers, be they cooks or coders. More and more companies are growing their own talent through on-the-job training and upskilling. Helping the team take on different roles, meet new goals, and transform operations from within. And the way Carmy does just that in The Bear offers lessons worth paying attention to.
So, here are four lessons for leading the team you inherit, inspired by The Bear.
Assess the team. Get to know their skills and - just as importantly - their motivations.
New-hire Sydney clashes with seasoned Tina, who reminds Sydney that she was in the kitchen before Sydney was born and will keep doing things her way. The old way. But Carmy and Sydney know if they keep doing things the old way, they won’t be able to keep the place afloat. So with Carmy’s trust, Sydney plays the role of guide-on-the-side to help veteran Tina get with the new program. Tina clearly has talent in the kitchen. But in addition to being suspicious of change, she’s lacking in self-confidence.
The turning point comes with a batch of mashed potatoes. Tina burns a pot of boiling milk meant for making the mashed potatoes the new way. Then Tina’s self-doubt boils over in anger. But upon returning to her station she finds a perfectly gurgling pot of milk and herbs on the stove. Syd had set it up for her. Instead of yelling at Tina for messing up, Syd gave her a head start on a fresh attempt. And Tina knocks it out of the park. She reluctantly brings the new batch for a taste. Expecting criticism, Tina’s eyes light up when instead she hears she’s nailed the new recipe.
So what’s the point? Syd didn’t let Tina’s rough exterior get in the way of understanding Tina’s strengths – she’s a solid cook - or her motivations - she wants to feel pride in what she does.
Quick tip: Go on a listening tour. Understand why each person is there and what makes them tick. Find out where they excel and where they have room to grow.
Earn trust and respect before bringing in your new practices.
Carmy scrubs the kitchen floors, sells his vintage denim to buy meat, and caters a children’s birthday party to keep the doors open. His work ethic and dedication are on full display. Sydney jumps into action after a blown fuse leaves the restaurant without power and at risk of losing the day’s revenues. She assembles a grill from the neighboring construction site and swiftly moves lunch service to the parking lot. In another scene, Syd quietly saves Richie by procuring the right kitchen caulk when he buys the wrong variety. Both scenes demonstrate Syd’s ability to protect the restaurant and her staff.
Despite Syd and Carmy’s expertise, they were still newcomers who needed time before they saw their employees call each other “chef” in respect, a cleaner kitchen, and more interest in the Beef’s menu tweaks.
Quick tip: Build trust and respect with your team through hard work and modeling the behavior you seek for greater adoption of your ideas.
Introduce changes with time and training.
At Sydney’s encouragement, Carmy introduces an online ordering system that causes chaos when the staff is bombarded with hundreds of orders that they cannot pull off during a lunch rush. The rush to put a new system into action led to an improper setup. Syd might have fared better if she had slowed down.
Quick tip: Fully assess the steps you need to take to introduce your adjustments and be ready for the potential ramifications of your decisions.
Give your employees room to stretch.
Marcus, the passionate baker, clearly dreams of dessert at night. He’s constantly peppering Carmy with questions and is eager to learn, improve, and add to the menu. When Marcus presents an idea to add donuts to the Beef’s repertoire, Carmy agrees. By allowing Marcus to stretch his skill set, a bond through food is formed.
Quick tip: Look beyond people’s existing roles and see what they could accomplish with the right support.
The Beef team slowly comes around to Sydney and Carmy’s methods and new ideas, especially as they become more aware that the restaurant needs saving.
Taking over a team you did not build is challenging. Changing culture is even harder than altering recipes. Evaluate who you have by your side, work alongside your team to earn their respect, and introduce change intentionally. Give your employees and yourself room to grow and you can do great things with the team you inherit.
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