Hospitality Talk: 5 Tools to make for a better workplace

We’re all in this together. We all want a better workplace.

You’re really stuck in a collaborative environment, in Hospitality, so if you’re a lone wolf, it’s going to be tough – for you and everyone around you.

Want to prosper? Not just survive? Do you think you can make a difference and a better workplace? You can!

Here’s 5 things that will help you get there. But then, you have to do the hard work yourself, and follow through. For without that, there’s never a chance of success. Oh, yes, that’s one of the tools! Here they are:

 

1. Know yourself. By the time you get to be working in a kitchen, you really do need to know you – what your strengths and weaknesses are, how good you are at taking direction, how you work with others, where you’d prefer to be, given the choice. Then you can take control and carve a career that plays to your strengths, builds up your weaknesses, and ensures you don’t end up in quicksand when you need to be on dry land.
2. Strategise. Work hard but smart. Think about all tasks you’re given, take the time to think things through. Take 1 and 1 and work your way up to 20. Anticipate. The difference that sort of forward thrust, strategic thinking makes in your working life will astound you. Think strategically – that’s what makes a leader, and a better workplace.

 

3. Look around and learn.  Never miss an opportunity to learn – and not just from good examples, but from other people’s mistakes too. That’s the sign of a sharp intelligence – not having to make all your mistakes at your expense. So watch others, help pick them up when they fall, and create a learning exercise from everything you can. It’ll pay you back big time.
4. Take time to sit back and let things unfold. It really is amazing how things open up when you least expect it. That might be called fate, but it’s really just understanding that not everything will run to our demands or our time clock. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and not rush in to judge or react too fast. Knowing when to push on, or relax back is the sign of great wisdom. When you let things happen naturally, life is so easy it will astound you, and the synchronicity of things will make your journey a joy. Looking back, it’s very easy to join the dots!

 

5. Enjoy the trip. Never forget to have fun when you can – and that’s every day. Don’t take everything so seriously – remember it’s all small stuff. And we should focus on the laughs, not the tears. Can you imagine how great life would be if everyone lightened up a notch? For a better workplace, look for laughs, find the fun, see and get the joke. Life was meant to be easy, and fun. Funny? Better still.

While there’s a whole raft of tools and systems to help you cope with stress and pressure coming your way, let us know if there are topics or issues you want discussed. Off the Hotplate is coming, and it’s about being as much yours as ours. Want that better workplace now? Hospitality is collaboration, so is Off the Hotplate.

 

Chrissie 🙂