77: Unlock the Secrets to Becoming a Clear and Confident Leader in Restaurants

Have you ever wondered how mastering transparent communication and purposeful leadership can transform your team’s productivity and morale? 

In this episode, I, break down the essential skills that separate great restaurant managers from truly exceptional leaders.

Looking for ways to streamline your restaurant operations? Check out Restaurant Technologies to see how Total Oil Management and automated solutions can save time, reduce waste, and improve efficiency.

You’ll walk away with practical, real-world strategies for:
✅ Setting clear expectations that eliminate confusion and boost efficiency
✅ Practicing active listening to foster trust and collaboration
✅ Delivering constructive feedback that inspires growth instead of resistance

But we’re not stopping there. We’ll also explore the game-changing power of effective delegation—aligning tasks with your team’s strengths and cultivating a culture of ownership. Plus, you’ll learn how leading by example, staying professional under pressure, and fostering positivity can dramatically improve team dynamics.

And because great leaders never stop learning, I’ll be sharing must-read books, powerful coaching techniques, and networking resources that will take your leadership to the next level.

Ready to level up your leadership skills? Let’s work together one-on-one! Get personalized coaching and tailored strategies to strengthen your leadership presence—contact me today at christinmarvin.com/contact.

Don’t forget to subscribe for more expert insights on leadership and communication in the restaurant industry!

More from Christin:

Grab your free copy of my audiobook, The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap: Move from Ordinary to Extraordinary at christinmarvin.com/audio

Curious about one-on-one coaching or leadership workshops? Click this link to schedule a 15 minute strategy session.

Podcast Production: https://www.lconnorvoice.com/

Chapters

• 0:08 Mastering Clear and Concise Leadership
• 8:47 Improving Leadership Skills Through Delegation

Transcript

Christin Marvin: 0:08

If you are ready to unlock success in the restaurant industry as a manager by mastering the art of clear and concise leadership, then this episode is for you. Today, we'll explore what it means to be a clear and concise leader, understand how it translates to the restaurant setting and provide five actionable tips to help you become a more effective leader. Welcome to the Restaurant Leadership Podcast, the show where restaurant leaders learn tools, tactics and habits from the world's greatest operators. I'm your host, kristen Marvin, with Solutions by Kristen. I've spent the last two decades in the restaurant industry and now partner with restaurant owners to develop their leaders and scale their businesses through powerful one-on-one coaching, group coaching and leadership workshops. This show is complete with episodes around coaching, leadership development and interviews with powerful industry leaders. You can now engage with me on the show and share topics you'd like to hear about leadership, lessons you want to learn and any feedback you have. Simply click the link at the top of the show notes and I will give you a shout out on a future episode. Thanks so much for listening and I look forward to connecting.

Christin Marvin: 1:31

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Christin Marvin: 3:23

I've been working with a client on their goal of how to show up as a more clear and concise restaurant leader in order to both manage up and be able to manage their team more effectively. In our journey, we've been able to uncover some roadblocks that have been getting in the way of them being able to communicate the way that they want to, and we've been able to strategize and create plans around current crucial conversations that really need to take place and that are standing in the way of the business being as successful as it could. So in this episode, I wanted to explore with you today what it really means to be a clear and concise leader, how it translates to the restaurant setting, and provide five actionable tips that will help you be clear, help you to become more of a clear and concise and therefore effective leader. I'm also going to share a couple of resources with you at the end of the episode that I found to be beneficial over my years in the restaurant industry. So first, let's define what a clear and concise leader looks like. A clear and concise leader is really someone who communicates with transparency, with precision and with purpose. In the context of a restaurant manager, this really means being able to convey expectations, instructions and feedback in a straightforward manner which fosters a positive and efficient work environment. What being a clear, concise leader sounds like in a restaurant setting is this really can be identified as their ability to articulate expectations, delegate tasks and provide constructive feedback in a manner that is easily understood by the team. Effective communication ensures that everyone is on the same page, which leads to increased productivity, improved morale and a more cohesive work environment.

Christin Marvin: 5:35

Some tips that I would recommend for becoming more of a clear and concise leader are one establishing clear expectations. Clearly communicate your expectations to the team. Outline specific goals, standards and responsibilities, ensuring that everyone really understands their role in achieving success. Make sure that you use straightforward language to avoid ambiguity, and one thing I would really love to add to this is when you are getting ready to have a conversation with a team, a teammate or your entire team, spend some time really thinking about what you want out of that conversation. Make some notes, plan that speech in the mirror and make sure that you show up really really well prepared and confident for that conversation.

Christin Marvin: 6:27

The second tip I'll offer is active listening. Active listening actively listening to your team's concerns, feedback and suggestions is absolutely vital for success. This not only demonstrates respect, but it also allows you to address issues properly and really make informed decisions, encourage open communication and create culture where everyone feels heard. Actively listening really is about just simply listening. Leave your agenda out the window. Really try to be clear of distractions that are going on. You know, don't put yourself in a position where you're just listening to someone and you're immediately trying to think about a solution, or you're thinking about what you're going to say next. Just listen to what they're saying and let it soak in.

Christin Marvin: 7:21

The third tip I'll offer is provide constructive feedback. When providing feedback, make sure you're really specific, constructive and very timely. Highlight both the strengths and the areas of improvement. Avoid being vague or overly critical and really focus on actionable steps for growth. This approach really fosters a culture of continuous improvement. Again, a really great tip here is to plan, prepare for the conversation. Make sure you could even run this conversation by somebody else and say does this sound clear to you, does this sound like it's specific, that there's actionable items to follow? That will help you prepare for the conversation.

Christin Marvin: 8:11

Hi, everybody, we're taking a quick break to offer you an exciting opportunity. If you're a restaurant owner or manager looking to enhance your leadership skills. Owner or manager looking to enhance your leadership skills, I invite you to join my 12-day leadership challenge. In just 12 days, you'll receive a guided packet with actionable strategies to transform your leadership in less than five minutes a day. Join the challenge and the community and grab your copy at kristinmarvincom slash 12 days. Now let's get back to the show.

Christin Marvin: 8:47

The fourth tip I'll offer is to master the art of delegation. Delegate tasks effectively by assigning responsibilities based on the team member strengths and their expertise. Clearly communicate the expectations, make sure that you include deadlines and also tell them what you want the desired outcome to be right. If you create a vision for them of what success is going to look like when you delegate something, they're going to clearly understand what success looks like and then be able to create a path in order to achieve that success. Empower them to take ownership of their role and promote a sense of accountability with them as well. Let them know that you trust them and that you are excited to see where they're going to go with this delegated task. And, importantly as well, make sure that you're explaining the why behind what you're asking of them. This is a really strong way to ensure that the team is bought into what you're asking. The fifth tip is lead by example, so demonstrate the behavior and the work ethic that you really expect from the team. A clear and concise leader sets the standard throughout their actions, not just their words. By modeling professionalism, dedication and a positive attitude, you can really inspire your team to follow suit.

Christin Marvin: 10:10

Some additional resources around this that I would provide for you would be one a couple books, one Minute Manager just a go-to oldie but goodie by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. Also, leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek is a really great read and it works across, you know, wonderful, like many, many, many different industries. The second resource I would offer is working with a coach. A coach can really help you enhance your self-awareness. Sometimes coaches just need to simply hold up a mirror for people and repeat back to them exactly what they're communicating and help them understand how they're showing up and then again really create a strong game plan to understand what clear and concise communication looks like and then help clear those roadblocks out of the way. Working with my clients, we've done this quite a bit and really have been able to clearly identify some of these roadblocks and challenges that are not just about how do I say what I want to say, but we've run into things on a deeper level where there's some relationship issues or some tension or some lack of self-awareness on some of the team members parts, too, that need to be clearly communicated before that leader can have the conversation that they really want to have and need to have.

Christin Marvin: 11:36

The third resource I would offer is networking events Attending industry conferences, seminars, networking groups to connect with experienced leaders, share some insights and learn from successful professionals in the field. I always love even watching TED Talks and Masterclass. I love watching people's communication style, understanding how they're preparing, how they're clearly communicating, how they're getting their message across. I really take a lot of value from that. But I think also industry groups like Denver restaurant associations any panels that you can attend will really help you understand how to communicate and also maybe how not to communicate If you find yourself listening to someone and you're getting lost in the messaging or they're long-winded. I think you can learn lessons from that as well.

Christin Marvin: 12:30

So to wrap this up, really becoming a clear and concise leader in the restaurant business is such a journey of continuous improvement. Communication is just one of the most challenging and important leadership skills out there. By establishing clear expectations, actively listening, providing constructive feedback, mastering delegation and leading by example, you'll create a positive and effective work environment that not only benefits your team but also helps you achieve your goals as a restaurant leader. Invest in your leadership skills, embrace learning opportunities and really strive for excellence in every aspect of your role. I'm going to challenge you to really get out of your comfort zone and get uncomfortable, because this is where growth happens. This is where growth happens.

Christin Marvin: 13:26

I'm going to challenge you by asking you if you're curious about this subject and think that you've got some room and opportunity to grow as a clear and concise leader, to ask someone on your leadership team how, simply, how you can show up and be more of a clear and concise leader. And I'm going to ask you to just listen. Just listen to what they say. Don't respond, don't offer any rebuttals or anything like that, just simply thank them for sharing that.

Christin Marvin: 13:52

And I would recommend that you go home, you write that down somewhere so that you don't forget. Just sleep on it, don't stress out about it, get up the next day and just spend some time with those notes and really let it sink in From there. Once you have that feedback, you can kind of create, to start, a vision for yourself of how you want to show up what you want your communication style to be and then create a path from there on how you can develop that leadership skill. So I hope this episode was valuable for you. Again, thank you so much for listening. I really appreciate it. For more leadership tips, subscribe to my weekly newsletter at kristinmarvincom slash blog. Thanks everybody. We'll talk to you next week.