Saturday night. Loted lounge. Two waiters are missing. Kitchen is late. Owner collects results on WhatsApp.
And you, in the middle of the hurricane, need to decide: press the team to "take care of" or breathe, reorganize and follow with what is possible?
According to Harvard Business Review, leaders who prioritize only short-term metrics increase burnout rates in teams by up to 60%. Fiocruz points out that the food sector is among the 5 with the highest rate of withdrawal from mental disorders in Brazil.
The good news is, leading with humanity doesn't mean giving up resultsIt means building a sustainable operation, where people make more because they are fine — not because they are being squeezed.
1. The classic error: confuse urgency with emergency
In the heat of the operation, everything seems urgent, but not everything is urgent.
Urgent: The client asked for the bill ten minutes ago.
Emergency: A client has gone through a lot and needs help.
Leaders who treat everything as an emergency create teams in a state of constant alert. The result? Fatigue, errors, conflicts and eventually resignation requests.
What to do in practice:
Use a Eisenhower Matrix (We will speak of it in Article 3) to separate what is urgent from what is important.
Before you file a request, ask: "Does this have to be resolved NOW or can you wait 20 minutes?"
Communicate priorities clearly: "Focus first on table 7, then answer to 12.
2. Technology as an ally — not as a vigilante
Management systems (such as what you use in your restaurant) can be a relief tool or Toxic pressureDepends on how you use them.
Toxic use:
"Why hasn't Table 5 paid yet? I'm seeing it here in the system!"
Humanized use:
"I saw table 5 has been waiting 15 minutes. Do you need help? Do you want me to cover another table while you're working it out?"
The difference is subtle, but powerful. In the first case, the system becomes an electronic "fiscal". empowers the leader to SUPPORT the teamNot just charge.
Practical tip:
If the system shows that there are late requests in the kitchen, use this to remaining tasks"Fulano, the kitchen is locked. I'll ask you to focus on drinks and tickets while the main dishes come out."
3. The Power of Strategic Pause
It seems counterintuitive, but short breaks increase productivity.
A waiter who works 6 hours straight makes more mistakes, answers worse and leaves the exhausted shift. A waiter who for 10 minutes every 2 hours keeps pace, attention and good mood.
Real example:
A restaurant in SP implemented "10 minute breaks every 2h30" for the salon team. Result: 35% reduction in order errors and 20% increase in customer service assessments in Google.
How to implement:
Organize pause rotary scales.
Use the system to monitor peaks and moving valleys — pauses must fall into the valleys.
Make it one RuleNot a favor.
4. Empathetic leadership is not "passing hands on heads"
There's a manager who thinks that being human is accepting everything.
Empathy ☆ Lack of limits
You may (and should) charge commitment, punctuality and quality. But the way you collect defines whether you are leading or just sending.
Example:
❌ Toxic Coupling:
"Really late? If it's still that way, I'm gonna have to take care of it."
✅ Humanized coverage:
"I realized you've been late. Is something going on? Can we adjust the schedule or do you need some support?"
The second approach opens up room for solution. The first only generates fear and resentment.
5. The leader is also human
If you lead a team, you probably have felt:
Guilt for leaving on time while the team stays.
Fear of being seen as "weak" if you show tiredness.
Loneliness in difficult decisions.
Fiocruz points out that operating leaders have twice the risk of developing anxiety Compared to other positions.
Self-care is not luxury.
If you're not well, your leadership will be reactive, explosive and confusing, and that contaminates the entire team.
Simple practices:
Book 1 day a week for yourself (even if it's an afternoon).
Divide decisions with someone you trust (socio, submanager, mentor).
Ask the team feedback regularly: "How am I doing as a leader?"
6. The paradox of control: the more you control, the less you lead
Leaders who want to control each step of the team end up creating two problems:
Dependent team, who doesn't make decisions alone.
Exhausted leader, who becomes a full-time fireman.
What works:
Give autonomy with clear limits.
Example:
"If the customer complains about the point of the meat, you can offer dessert or 10% discount without calling me, but if it's something above R$50, then let me know."
It frees you and empowers the team.
7. Sustainable Results > Results at any cost
Is it possible to have a month of record sales pushing the team?
Is that sustainable?
The following month you will have:
Resignation applications.
Unmotivated team.
It falls in the quality of customer service.
Expensive turnover (contracting and training new costs expensive).
Mathematics is simple:
A healthy and stable team makes more in the long term than a team running in the "survival" mode.
Leadership is serving, not mastering
Leadership that does not sicken the team starts with a change of mindset:
Your role is not to make the team work MORE.
It's making the team work better.
And "better" includes:
Clearness in priorities.
Strategic breaks.
Autonomy with responsibility.
Respectful cover.
Smart use of technology.
In the end, you're not just running a restaurant.
You're taking care of people who support families, have dreams and deserve to come home without being broken up.
Because a leader who takes care of the team not only retains talents — he builds a team that wears the real shirt, not by obligation, but by identification.
Next article: PDCA applied to the routine of operating leaders