Battling the Invisible Wall: How to Guide Your Staff Through "Resistance" to Truly Shine

 

Battling the Invisible Wall: How to Guide Your Staff Through "Resistance" to Truly Shine

As trainers and leaders in the bustling world of restaurants, we often encounter challenges that go beyond just mastering skills or following recipes. There's an invisible force that pushes back when we try to do something truly great, solve a tricky problem, or bring a creative idea to life. 

Think of resistance as the wall you and your team hit when a new menu item isn't working quite right, when service flow is consistently disrupted, or when a fantastic idea seems impossible to execute. It's the sum of practical difficulties, fear of failure, and the sheer effort required to move forward. But wisely navigating this resistance is key to making both your kitchen and front-of-house staff truly shine.

Here's how we can guide our teams to battle resistance effectively, turning obstacles into opportunities for growth:

1. Frame Challenges as Worthy Battles: Tackling "hard problems" can be an "unfair advantage" if approached with tenacity and care. Instead of letting staff be discouraged by difficulties, frame them as essential steps towards excellence. Teach them that the feeling of pushing boundaries and solving tough issues leads to "joy" and fulfillment, a "labor of love". The quote "excellence is the ability to withstand pain" is relevant here – the grind is where mastery is forged. Encourage staff to "run at hard problems" rather than avoiding them.

2. Foster Relentless Persistence and Tenacity: Battling resistance isn't a one-time event; it requires "dogged persistence". When hitting that wall of resistance, the instinct might be to give up. We must train our staff in "unbelievable tenacity". This means:

   • Learning from Mistakes: Don't fear failure. Mistakes are part of the "trial and error" process. The focus should be on learning from what went wrong and not repeating it.
   • Going Back to the Drawing Board: When a solution doesn't work, encourage the team to "go back to the drawing board" and try a different approach.
   • Constant Tinkering: The "relentlessly" improving the core product or service. This iterative refinement is a form of battling resistance – constantly finding ways to make something familiar the "best possible level".

3. Empower Through Logical, Collaborative Problem-Solving: Overcoming resistance isn't just about individual brute force. The solutions often emerge from "thinking logically", frequently "as a group".

   • Listen to Their Insight: Those on the front lines, in the kitchen or on the floor, often have valuable insights into where the resistance lies and potential solutions. Create a culture where staff feel safe to voice "dumb questions" or observations that can lead to "smart answers".
   • Foster Teamwork: Encourage kitchen brigades to help each other and find solutions together during busy moments. Front-of-house staff can collectively brainstorm smoother service flows or guest issue resolutions. The shared effort makes battling resistance less daunting.

4. Connect Creativity to Practical Solutions: Creativity isn't just about wild, impractical ideas; it's also about finding "a better way of doing something". This often means creatively solving the problems posed by resistance.

   • Focus on "Does this solve a problem?": Encourage staff to channel their creative energy into solutions that make things work better, simpler, or more efficient. Whether it's streamlining a prep step or finding a smoother way to handle a customer request, that's creativity battling resistance in action.

5. Lead with Trust and Presence: Your role as a trainer is vital. By trusting staff to tackle problems and supporting their decisions (even if they're wrong initially, provided there's learning), you create the psychological safety needed for them to confront resistance without fear. Leading by example, running at hard problems yourself, demonstrates the desired tenacity.

6. Know When to Be Like Water: While "bludgeoning through" is necessary for some resistance, the "be like water" analogy offers another strategy: sometimes the wisest way to overcome an obstacle isn't head-on, but by finding a flexible way around it. This involves adaptability and finding alternative creative solutions.

Battling resistance is an ongoing part of striving for excellence in hospitality. By teaching our staff to embrace the difficulty, persist with tenacity, collaborate on solutions, link creativity to problem-solving, and feel supported in trial and error, we equip them not just to overcome obstacles, but to build resilience, develop mastery, and ultimately, truly shine in their roles, contributing to the "magic" that makes a restaurant successful.