Leadership: Its In The Bottle Of Ink
A few years ago, Randall was the general manager for a restaurant chain
. One time, he and the other managers were having a meeting in one of the restaurants that had just been remodeled. There was a table with some papers and a bottle of ink on top, and everyone was just hanging around, talking and having a good time.At one point, Randalls boss pulled him aside to speak to him about a possible candidate for general manager; the person was currently an assistant manager. This young man was very good at organizing schedules, food orders, sanitation, and staffing, nevertheless, Randall felt there was something he lacked. His boss kept asking Randall for specifics so as to not consider this person as an option, but Randall was not sure why he didnt consider this employee worthy of a promotion, he just felt he was not a leader.
Right that minute, someone knocked the bottle of ink off the table, and everyone witnessed how it hit the new carpet and rolled under the table leaving a dreadful dark blue stain. Immediately, one general manager got down on his hands and knees and crawled under the table to get the bottle; he just did it without giving it a second thought. This man was big, he was around 300 pounds, but still, he never hesitated. He got the bottle of ink even knowing that there were others there for whom it would have been much easier to do.
Right then, Randall knew what his hesitation about the general manager candidate was. He turned to his boss and said: this person would not have gotten the bottle of ink. He would have asked someone else to do it, even if he had been alone in the room at the time. He was not willing to do what he asked others to do.
Clearly it is not a managers job to do the cleaning; he must let others do that so that he can focus on the customers, but in a crowded restaurant sometimes managers must get involved in the operation to get things done, because there isnt anyone else. Managing a restaurant is more than walking around asking clients if they enjoyed the meal. Managers must be willing to get their hands dirty if necessary. Randall recalled how he had washed dishes for days after a dishwasher didnt show up and until he found another one. He didnt like it, but it was necessary.
After thinking about it for a while, Randalls boss agreed that he could not recall a time when this person had done a less than pleasant task. Needless to say, he never got promoted. This episode was so remarkable that it was discussed at every managers meeting from then on.
A true leader picks up the bottle of ink.
If you want people to follow you, pick up the bottle.
If you want to inspire others, pick up the bottle.
If you want to be trusted with the big things, do the little things.
Randall spent lots of time working on the little things to help his employees, and they did much more for him. He always found someone to cover for a sick colleague, in fact, before accepting, employees asked who the manager was for the shift. If it was someone who was not very respected, they said no, but Randall always got a yes.
A leader leads by example; you cannot expect others to do what you are not willing to do yourself, so, next time a bottle of ink is knocked off the table, get down and pick it up!
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