Take one for the Team

It’s 8.55pm and I am sitting on the sofa with chocolate by my side and the TV on.... ready and waiting for the next instalment of Hell’s Kitchen. Over the past week I have found myself becoming rather drawn into this latest reality TV show. You may be thinking to yourself ‘What is she watching that rubbish for, has she nothing better to do?’, but if you look past the cameras and the glamour there are some core values being showcased which are key to any successful working environment.

Marco Pierre White sacked one celebrity from the kitchen because he wasn’t a team player. He appeared to have been doing well, working hard and cooking what was expected of him but this was not enough to survive. He built up no rapport and chose to work as an individual rather than helping and working alongside the others. He may have been creating what was required but what he was producing was not spectacular, if he had chipped in with the others and made himself a team player perhaps the results he could have achieved would not just have been acceptable but would have been outstanding.

Marco leaves the kitchen in the hands of the celebrities, how will they cope without their teacher at the helm? Step up Ade.... as soon as Marco has left the kitchen Ade has taken control, he is shouting orders, checking his colleagues are ok and getting stuck in to the task at hand. He keeps the kitchen moving, which in turn keeps the food going out to the tables and consequently makes the diners happy. If Ade hadn’t stepped up to the challenge and taken the role of leader things could have been very different. Every working environment needs a leader who will engage with the team and lead them in the right direction to achieve the desired results.

So if you take away the celebrities and the TV cameras Hell's Kitchen is very similar to any work place; people are key to its success. Whether you are working in a shop on Oxford street, an office in the city or in Hell’s kitchen, you need team players and leaders to make sure your successful in whatever you do.

Sophie Whittall

Marketing & Admin

http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/