I was hired at Pieology pizzeria in 2014 as a regular team member. At this level in the company, I only had the typical duties of a food industry worker. The next year, I decided I wanted to move up in the company, and I was immediately promoted to shift leader. As a shift leader, I had to know every position in the store, I managed the crew of people I had for my shift, was involved in training new hires, and was responsible for opening or closing the store for my shift.
Being a shift leader was a change of pace for me. No longer was I the mindless worker who just carried out tasks, now I had to actually think and care about my job. This promotion caused me to develop my leadership skill of restorative. Restorative is the skill to recognize the abilities of your people. For example, I had to the know the strengths and weaknesses of my team members so I could coordinate them accordingly during a ‘rush’. If I put everyone in a position that they were comfortable in, the rush would run much more smoothly than if I did not. This position taught me how to use my personal leadership values in the real world. I learned that I had to have a very specific type of relationship with my crew. I couldn’t just be their friend anymore, I also had to be their boss. I had to not only have that trust and friendship, but also their respect. This careful relationship with my workers ensures that not only can we have fun together, but we care enough to get what needs to get done for the day and help each other out with any tasks that need to be done.
Being a shift leader was a change of pace for me. No longer was I the mindless worker who just carried out tasks, now I had to actually think and care about my job. This promotion caused me to develop my leadership skill of restorative. Restorative is the skill to recognize the abilities of your people. For example, I had to the know the strengths and weaknesses of my team members so I could coordinate them accordingly during a ‘rush’. If I put everyone in a position that they were comfortable in, the rush would run much more smoothly than if I did not. This position taught me how to use my personal leadership values in the real world. I learned that I had to have a very specific type of relationship with my crew. I couldn’t just be their friend anymore, I also had to be their boss. I had to not only have that trust and friendship, but also their respect. This careful relationship with my workers ensures that not only can we have fun together, but we care enough to get what needs to get done for the day and help each other out with any tasks that need to be done.
A few months after I was promoted to shift leader, I was offered the position of assistant manager. As assistant manager, not only did I have all my other duties, but I also had to do more managerial work as well. This meant less personal time with my team members, and at first I was hesitant about how I could keep the balance of friendship and trust with my crew. I decided that in order to be the best assistant manager that I could be, I had to critique someone in a similar position to me: my manager. By watching him, I was able to see what approaches worked, and which ones didn’t. For example, I learned that if you ask the crew to help you with a task rather than telling them to do the task, they were much more receptive and eager to help. After a while, I was still able to retain a respect-based relationship with my crew even if I wasn’t spending as much personal time with them. Thanks to my reflections and critiques on my own and my manager’s leadership style, I have developed my own personal leadership philosophy that’s based on friendship and respect. I love my job because I am able to be an effective leader while also maintaining great relationships with my crew members. When you have a team of people that all care about each other, going to work is something I actually look forward to.
In 2017 I was chosen by Frank Kalil, the owner of the franchise, to go to California as a team trainer. Pieology is a rapidly expanding restaurant that is constantly opening new restaurants. It was my job, along with a team of other trainers from California, to help open the store by teaching a large group of people everything there is to know about Pieology in just three days.
In 2017 I was chosen by Frank Kalil, the owner of the franchise, to go to California as a team trainer. Pieology is a rapidly expanding restaurant that is constantly opening new restaurants. It was my job, along with a team of other trainers from California, to help open the store by teaching a large group of people everything there is to know about Pieology in just three days.