Lead With Humility — Leadership Lessons From “The Bear”
“The Bear” on FX/Hulu paints an anxiety-inducing picture of what it’s like to work in a restaurant and centers around fictional fine-dining chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto. Carmy takes over his late brother’s grungy, failing Chicago restaurant and is determined to make it a success.
The Bear is full of learnings for organizational structure and systems, and also displays some of the most realistic inter-team dynamics I’ve seen in a show without being corny or cute.
Don’t tout your accolades when you first arrive
- Chef De Cuisine at one of the fanciest New York Restaurants
- Food and Wine Best New Chef
- James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef
- Chef at Noma, a 3-star Michelin Restaurant in Denmark
One of those accomplishments alone would be impressive enough, but Carmy achieved them all before he turned 30. Yet he mentions none of it when coming into The Beef. Sure, people know, but he doesn’t talk about it.
He has no control over how others in the kitchen will perceive him, but he makes clear that those things don’t mean much to him if his current kitchen isn’t running successfully. While he may yell about his creature comforts (dull knives, not being…
