What Being A Server Taught Me About Leadership in 1983

It's 1983. Sedalia, Missouri. I'm working at Ken's Pizza while going to State Fair Community College. It’s midnight on a Saturday. The last of the high school kids are headed to their cars for one more cruise down “the strip.” 

That means it's time for us to get the place cleaned and closed. The jukebox is blaring “Billie Jean,” “Heart and Soul,” and “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which makes what’s ahead much more tolerable.

We’ll break down the salad bar, do loads of dishes, mop - and one of us gets to clean the bathrooms. Barf.

And like clockwork, Brad has vanished.

Maybe he's "taking out trash" that somehow requires a 20-minute cigarette break. Or, once again, he’s "organizing" the walk-in cooler (aka eating shredded mozzarella straight out of the box).

Here's what a 19-year-old working for $2.50 an hour taught me about leadership that I still remember today: The manager who doesn't address the problem becomes part of the problem.

The Brad Rule:Your Silence Speaks Louder Than Their Slacking

At Ken's Pizza, our manager, Jimmy, had two choices every time he closed:

1. Call Brad out on his disappearing act.

2. Accept that the rest of us would resent both Brad AND him.

There's no magical third option where Brad suddenly develops a work ethic.

Night after night, Jimmy watched the same pattern. Brad would be Mr. Refill King during the dinner rush when customers were tipping, but the minute it came time for the icky work, he vanished like a pitcher of Miller Lite on a hot day at the fair.

Meanwhile, the rest of us were busting our butts, staying late to finish what should have been Brad’s work. We'd exchange those looks—you know the ones. The one that says I hope Brad slips on the wet floor and breaks a patella.

Jimmy kept thinking Brad would figure it out on his own. Spoiler alert: He didn't.

What I learned way back then: The moment you stop protecting your best people from your worst people is the moment you become the problem.

The courage to have one difficult conversation today creates the trust for a thousand easy ones tomorrow.