Recently I was in Pittsburgh for work (nice city!), and one night our team had dinner at the restaurant in our hotel. Our waiter, Jared, transformed the evening.
He greeted us and made some small talk, like servers often do. Then he told us: “You are my only table tonight, and I’ve been given permission to create a tasting menu for you. I will guarantee that everyone here,” (there were 13 of us), “will be totally happy. I just need the answers to four questions.”
Four questions, and your answers will lead to a guaranteed-delightful experience. We said yes.
The meal was phenomenal, but that wasn’t the only thing we noticed. Being coaches who specialize in noticing how people show up in the world, we were blown away by his confidence, his assurance that he could deliver on his promise. It was so gutsy, and so authentic, that we had to believe him; we had to take the leap.
I think that’s leadership. Jared created a vision of a delicious and exciting dinner, and we wanted to follow him. Later in the meal, Jared was bringing something to the table, and we started talking with him. It turned out that he was in financial services for eight years, then left that to start a company that trains therapy dogs that go into nursing homes. He has eleven employees. At night, he’s a waiter.
Jared is a leader wherever he goes. He is looking for a way to show people his vision of the future, and to invite them along. It might be a three-course tasting menu or a therapy program with dogs, but his leadership and confidence will get you there.
