"Handling those emotions without reacting defensively or escalating the tension is a skill I strongly believe all leaders should work to develop, and it’s admittedly not easy. As you intentionally develop your EQ, it becomes easier to turn challenging feedback into an opportunity to improve your leadership, build trust, and foster a culture of open communication."

If you’re managing a restaurant, you already juggle a lot. But if you’re not truly listening to your team, you’re missing a huge opportunity to make your job easier. Listening goes beyond just nodding along—it’s about making your team feel heard and showing them that their input matters.

When your employees feel valued, they’ll go the extra mile. Actively listening helps you spot potential issues early before they become bigger problems. And when you build that kind of trust, your team will give their best—not because they have to, but because they want to.

Managers are the day-to-day leaders of the business. They engage with guests, employees, vendors, and basically any stakeholder that makes a restaurant a restaurant. There are fewer of them, so managing the training, both in terms of developing content and execution, is easier than managing training across many positions and sometimes hundreds of employees