Transformational Leadership of Chef Michael Stebner

By LaWana N. Richmond

MGT 409C

January 2004

The article "What Insiders Eat" initially ignited gastric interests. The reviewer went to various restaurants and joined in on the staff meal. At first glance it offered a review of the favorite menu items of the staff at various restaurants. Any lover of fine dining and culinary explorations could appreciate a concept like that.

A closer look revealed it to be so much more than that. This article demonstrated transformational leadership in action as practiced by a particular Chef. Michael Stebner, the Executive Chef at the Nine-Ten restaurant is a great example of transformational leadership in action.

The staff meal is a restaurant tradition that involves having all of the restaurant employees sit together once or twice a day for a family style meal. For each of the establishments covered, the staff meal, its timing, preparation, focus, mood, and implementation process offered very telling information about each chef's management style.

The lead Chef in a restaurant is so much more than just the person preparing the food. Chefs are also managers. The lead Chef manages at minimum the kitchen, but in many instances they also manage the crew or even the entire restaurant. The job requires extensive planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

In the restaurants covered in the article, there were examples of transactional as well as transformational leadership. One manager who struck me as very transactional said essentially that he offers no staff meal. He said his staff was welcome to purchase any item on the menu for half price.

Chefs somewhere in the middle of the zone between transactional and transformational offered staff meals, but there were elements to their approach that were definitely transformational. One chef offered meals but only from side dishes that were left over and never meat or desserts. Another chef fed his staff decent meals, but the entire meal was devoted to shop talk, so essentially they were glorified "working lunches". Then, there was the chef who fed only part of the staff and had a very departmentalized and segmented approach to managing. There was even an English speaking chef who wasn't sure if everyone on his staff spoke English.

The staff meals at one of the establishments resembled a high school cafeteria. There were cliques all over the room. The staff divided themselves by job function, gender and in some cases nationality. There was relationship building taking place, but it was in spite of as opposed to a result of management. Interviews with the staff at this establishment revealed potential turnover issues. Between the time of the interview and actual publishing of the article, at least two key staff members had stopped working there.

Chef Stebner was unique in many ways. He not only offered staff meals, but from start to finish he exhibited elements of transformational leadership. His staff meal was a collaborative effort that began in the kitchen. Many parts of the meal were prepared specifically for staff and weren't offered on the menu. His meals were prepared with the preferences and peculiarities of the individual staff members taken into account. He approached it as a labor of love. The meals, once prepared, were consumed sociably. They have standing rule that there is no shop talk allowed until the last ten minutes of the meal. They sat around the table sharing ideas, ideals and ideologies. They shared news and views. They ate in an atmosphere that facilitated relationships.

Crew members from the Nine-Ten, when interviewed, said they were encouraged to ask questions and learn as much as they wanted. They liked that they were encouraged to apply knowledge gained at Nine-Ten to other aspects of their life. They said they liked working there and that in fact the majority of the current staff has been there for the past year and a half. According to Ms. Virbila in her review for the Los Angeles Times, "The staff is so enthusiastic; it's easy to fall into the spirit of things."

Chef Stebner seems to have fostered a learning environment. All of the key elements were demonstrated. He leads with a shared vision and there is a great deal of collaboration. The organizational design is that of empowered teams. The information sharing is timely, open and accurate. The organizational culture appears to be one of community caring, with mutual relationships based on trust.

The Nine-Ten has received many awards and accolades since its establishment in 2002. A few of the honors they are most proud of are: Voted Best New Restaurant San Diego READER, People's Choice Awards 2002; Voted Best New Restaurant La Jolla Light, Reader's Choice Awards 2002; Awarded Best Hotel Value in San Diego, Travel Holiday Magazine January 2003; and Award of Excellence for 2002, Wine Spectator ~ for having one of the most outstanding wine lists in the world.

They have also received numerous favorable reviews. Apparently, in addition to taking excellent care of his staff and customers, Chef Stebner is committed to building and maintaining relationships with his suppliers. "Stebner is among the newer crop of chefs who pay attention to the provenance of their Brussels sprouts and baby beets, and make friends with local farmers." Caroline Bates, Gourmet Magazine, April 2003

In closing, it important to stress the fact that Chef Michael Stebner exhibited all of the key characteristics of transformational leadership as presented by Majors Donahue and Wong. His source of power with his people is definitely based on character and competence. The lack of turnover in his establishment is a strong example of his followers' commitment. The fact that he nurtures and develops as opposed to evaluating his employees is evidence of a long term focus. Again, his nurturing and development of his staff has contributed to their pride and self esteem not only at work, but in life. Chef Michael Stebner is an excellent example of transformational leadership in action.

References

"What the Insiders Eat" by Sharon McCullough, San Diego Reader, January 22, 2004

 

"Understanding and Applying Transformational Leadership" by Maj. Kevin S. Donahue and Maj. Leonard Wong

 

Nine-Ten website: http://www.nine-ten.com/

 

"Awakening" by Caroline Bates, Gourmet Magazine, April 2003

 

"Finding a Jewel on the La Jolla Shore" By S. Irene Virbila, Los Angeles Times, Sunday, December 11, 2002

As a followup, here is a peek at some of what Chef Michael Stebner has done since 2004: 

Chow Bella

Chef Michael Stebner Leaves Greene House For New True Food Kitchen

True Religion Modern Luxury December 2010

 

 

 

Chef Michael Stebner with Staff

Dr. Andrew Weil with Chef Michael Stebner