Starting at the Top?

Um, no, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up.

For those of you who have watched the new Netflix show “Cunk On Earth” the host, Philomena Cunk, poses a question to an Ancient Egypt scholar about how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. “Did they build them from the bottom up or from the top down?” she asks innocently. The scholar gives a quizzical look and pauses, but his answer is simple: “from the bottom up.” As viewers we are in on the joke; we know we’re watching a mockumentary with a host who is hopelessly clueless about history and who has no qualms about posing ridiculous questions. For the purposes of entertainment, it works well, we’re left giggling and amused, a great combination.

At work, it’s a different thing altogether. I have recently heard of a slew of young employees who are looking to start at the top without working their way up from the bottom. Instead of moving up the ladder of learning and mastering new skills they simply want to be in charge, right now. My clients and colleagues who complain about these upstarts are neither giggling nor are they amused, in business these requests are almost as absurd as Philomena’s questions to various scholars. But this is real life, not entertainment! Here are some questions to ask when a newbie wants to start at the top of the work pyramid.

1. Ask them to create a detailed job description including all the duties, functions, and skills required for the role they desire. At the same time, take a look at the job description you have written (or was provided by your business) and ensure it meets the requirements of the job in question. Any leadership position must include people management and financial management, then, depending on your business, add areas of competency including guest relations, facility management, or vendor management. Then, once you get the description from your employee, compare it to the description you have. You can do this with them but I would review first. Then highlight the areas that overlap (those duties and job functions that are correct) and highlight the areas that are missing or unnecessary in the employee’s version. This is a clear way to demonstrate how different their perception of the role is from the reality of it. This can help you as you usher them back into the seat of learner and encourage them to learn skills in the areas that were left off of their description.

2. Come up with various real-life scenarios - the toilet is flooding, the power is out, a vendor is harassing an employee, a guest has a health emergency in your business - and have them come up with solutions. The solutions need to demonstrate how they think about keeping the business running (it’s really easy to say “close for the night” or “fire the vendor” but we know we can’t simply erase all problems.) This will show you how they think while getting them to stick a toe into the reality pool. Sometimes they will back off after being confronted with these scenarios, and, if not, you will learn more about how he or she thinks about problems, a great insight to have.

3. Ask them about the rules and regulations for your business: if they want responsibility then they need to know which governmental bodies your business is responsible to. In hospitality, it’s all about the health department. So inquire about their knowledge of the most recent DOH visit, what the inspectors regularly look for, and to comment on areas that are currently risky in your business. This conversation can shine a light on the regulations they may or may not have any experience with and demonstrate to them that being at the top includes serious responsibility.

4. Ask them about their leadership model: how will they solve employee or guest conflict? What model are they working from? This will demonstrate how they think about themselves in their role of leader; do they comprehend the gravity of their role? Have they studied leadership or conflict resolution? These are all the things we pay big bucks to high-level leaders to do: manage people and ensure they are respected, satisfied, and productive at work.

5. Ask them about their financial acumen, how will they cut costs and increase income for the business? This is a big one. Often, ambitious line-level workers have a sense of what the business needs to operate properly but without any real knowledge of what some of those COG’s and CapX may cost (pose a pop quiz: define COG’s and CapX?). So sure, it would be great to have a second espresso machine installed to make coffee-making more swift but how will that get paid for? Again, pose real-life scenarios that illuminate the difficulties of managing a budget and increasing income. This is often a big stumbling block for newbies, they think they know how to make money but cutting costs and increasing profits is what makes a business successful.

Be careful when you have these conversations that you are not providing answers and posing closed questions (those that can only be answered with “yes/no.”) The idea is to open up a line of communication so you can get them talking and subtly illuminate the realities of moving up the ladder. The good news is that the ambitious ones on your team may surprise you with their answers. That’s great information, embrace them and give them a timeline for how they can properly move up the ladder. For those who are surprised by how difficult the leadership and management role they want truly is, this will certainly get their attention. The reality of the job is not the same as the illusion of the job. But, for those of you who are at the apex already, you know the top is a great place to be and work towards.

For my paid subscribers, below is a worksheet that will help you create a proper job description for any role. If you are a free subscriber and want access to archived articles and worksheets, become a paid subscriber!