688: The Power of Leadership Through Hospitality, with Will Guidara

Coaching for Leaders

Will Guidara: Unreasonable Hospitality

Will Guidara is the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which under his leadership received four stars from the New York Times, three Michelin stars, and in 2017 was named #1 on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. He has co-authored four cookbooks, was named one of Crain’s New York Business’s 40 Under 40, and is the recipient of WSJ Magazine’s Innovator Award. He is the author of Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect*.

We expect hospitality from a restaurant or hotel, but we often miss opportunities for this mindset at work. In this conversation, Will and I discuss effective leadership as an act of hospitality, not only for the organization and team — but for the leader themselves.

Key Points

• Service is black and white. Hospitality is color.
• Hospitality elevates service not only for the person receiving it, but for the person delivering it.
• Hospitality is a dialogue, not a monologue. With employees, this means giving feedback continuously.
• When offering criticism, make a charitable assumption. The message is still the message, but the context matters.
• Giving attention to your top performers does a lot to invest others their work.
• Make it cool to care.

Resources Mentioned

• Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect* by Will Guidara

Interview Notes

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Related Episodes

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• Five Steps to Hold People Accountable, with Jonathan Raymond (episode 306)
• The Mindset to Help Your Organization Grow, with Tiffani Bova (episode 633)

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