The Maverick
What is a maverick?
Merriam-Webster lists the essential meaning of maverick as "a person who refuses to follow the customs or rules of a group".
At first glance, that sounds like a pretty poor employee candidate. Someone who refuses to follow the customs or rules? Good luck getting them to fill out the Waste Sheet consistently. We have rules in place for a reason, darn it! There's no way we're going to hire or continue to employ this person!
If we look past the surface meaning of the word, though, we can start to unravel the benefits that a maverick can bring to the table!
Enter, The Maverick
Cooking at it's core is an art-form. A trade that for many of us requires years of dedication to the practice mixed in with years of technical training. You have to really love and appreciate the intracacies of the art to really persevere and have a long career.
There are those among us, though, that just have "it". The "je ne sais quoi". I like to call it "the magic eye", the ability to see and address the needs and issues in a kitchen so effortlessly that watching it is truly awe-inspiring. Whether that be from enhancing our current internal systems (think: more consistent training, real-time positive staff engagement, impacting bill times, HR reviews) to implementing entirely new changes (introducing periodic inventory counts, development of training guides, etc.). That's one of the best parts about the hospitality industry! We can always strive to be better today than we were yesterday.
This is also precisely where a maverick can flourish! A maverick hates to hear "this is how we've always done it". They can appreciate it, sure, but do they care? Not if they think their idea is better or more beneficial for the restaurant. A maverick hates to be painted into a corner with rules and procedures if they believe they can accomplish the same tasks more efficiently and consistently.
Spotting The Maverick
Mavericks are typically extremely passionate about their craft, their tools and their working environment.
- "The side plates are easier to grab from the line if we stack them HERE".
- "Let's change the plating of (insert dish) to use this edible garnish instead of your dehydrated kale and flimsly orange slice".
- "I know it's expensive, but we can charge a few extra bucks for it!".
- "What if we did it THIS way instead?".
If you've heard any of the above or something similar, chances are you've spotted your very own maverick! Don't be frightened! You'll only scare them away.
A lot of visionaries are overlooked or scoffed at originally, precisely for failing to "follow the customs or rules". Lore has it that Vincent Van Gogh only sold 1 painting while alive, though his work is now worth millions. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and his first business actually flopped miserably! The list of people who didn't conform to "the norm" and act accordingly is long and exhaustive. These are perfect examples of mavericks and how their contributions via their chosen mediums took their respective industries by storm!
Guidance and direction
A maverick can be either a blessing or a curse (depending on the individual, sometimes both!). While mavericks hate to be told what to do, they can be incredibly productive with the right amount of guidance and direction.
Frank Bunker Gilbreth once famously stated that he "will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it".
Now, that's not to say that your maverick is lazy. Quite the opposite, actually! They just hate that pesky "running a business" thing that always gets in the way of their real work of bettering the menu, the staff and the restaurant as a whole.
Instead of telling a maverick exactly how to accomplish a task, try explaining to them the desired end-goal, the direction you wish to see and let them come up with some solutions. You'll probably be shocked at the results! For example, let's imagine the overall state of your kitchen cleanliness currently is less than optimal (staffing has been brutal) and you wish to see it cleaned up and kept that way. Rather than telling your maverick to clean it up and stay on top of it "or else", try engaging with them to get their opinions and feedback. Asking them, "how do you think we can accomplish this" goes a lot further than, "you need to do it because it's your job".
Accountability & Ownership
Accountability and extreme ownership of items should be your mountain to die on, figuratively speaking, when dealing with a maverick in the wild. This is what will separate the keepers from the catch-and-release variety. Everyone can say what they want and offer up ideas, but the proof is in the pudding. It's equally important for a culinary maverick to feel supported as it is for them to be accountable for their actions and decisions.
Once you've tasked a maverick with coming up with solutions and chosen an option, it's up to you to hold them accountable for the execution of it and the accompanying results.
- Things not go exactly as planned?
- Review what went wrong and how you can prevent it together in the future
- Things go as expected or, hopefully, even better?
- Praise them publicly! Let them know what a great job they did.
A maverick you're going to want to hold on to will accept the consequences, positive or negative, of their actions and strive to learn from their experiences. By allowing them to come up with, implement and execute their own solutions to problems you're simultaneously instilling them with extreme ownership of the item. It's their solution. The buy-in is going to be 100%.
If it doesn't work out, it's easy to follow up with them and offer up a different solution without receiving much backlash or resistance. Their idea was tried and didn't work, so we're going to pivot and try another solution.
When it does work out, though, all a maverick really needs is praise and freedom. Praise on the job well done and the freedom to continue to make changes where they see necessary that benefits the restaurant as a whole.
You can never fully tame a maverick. Sure, they might come to roost at your location for a period of time, but ultimately you're dealing with a wild creature. They need the freedom to be creative and make changes but also require your support and guidance in the beginning. As long as you can provide them those basic necesseties, they'll continue to call your restaurant home and you'll forever be the beneficiary of their passion and hard work.