Page 125 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Lead by Example

Clear Expectations, Demonstrated Everywhere
I picked up many ideas and thoughts on leading staff from observ-
ing the practices of leaders around me, and I applied those lessons
when I managed the restaurant floor in the early years. The system
seemed designed with specific expectations coupled with common
sense. And I learned them soon enough. If employees didn’t put
their all into a task, whether it was working the grill or mopping
the floor, I’d send them home—even if we were short-staffed. I’d
sooner mop the floor myself than have workers undermine the
efforts of our team. And as tough as that was to do, it sent a mes-
sage that was so important . . . that if you were going to be part of
the team, you had to be engaged and perform your assigned task
up to our standards, as I was demonstrating.
On the restaurant floor, there never was any question as to
what was expected of us. Our managers for the most part
enjoyed working with us in the store. They actually would work
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alongside of us. They would be shoulder to shoulder when it got
busy. And at times that meant actually doing crew tasks; it also
meant directing, pushing, complimenting, and communicating
the entire time with the crew. I’m not sure those managers
understood how powerful their actions really were. But it helped
us to thrive. People want to be on a winning team. They seek to
do right, to have someone recognize their skills and accom-
plishments. And there was an added benefit. Because the aver-
age age of a McDonald’s manager was so young at the time (I
was only 21 when promoted to manager), we were impression-
able, perhaps to a much greater degree than managers in other
organizations. That led to a deeper appreciation between men-
tor and crew and a further absorption of knowledge.
In his book Standing Up & Standing Out, Roland Jones, a
founder of the National Black McDonald’s Operators Associa-
tion, as well as a former McDonald’s franchisee and company
employee, expressed these thoughts on mentoring: “Working