This post is written to celebrate Homemade Bread Day, and while it may seem strange to connect homemade bread and leadership, please get past the quirkiness and follow along. I believe there are powerful points that follow, even if you aren’t (gasp!) a fan of homemade bread.
As I made notes to create this article, I thought about the things that make homemade bread so special and tied them to important leadership ideas. Most importantly though, I have chosen to provide you with a challenge related to each of those connections. If you have a recollection of a great slice of homemade bread, revel in that as you read. . .
There is Positive Anticipation
Several important people in my life have made homemade bread, including my mother, wife and mother-in-law. All of them make excellent bread. But the person I most connect homemade bread with is my Grandmother. She made it every week for most of her life, and it was awesome. And as a kid I can remember the anticipation of knowing it was “bread day” and the feeling of walking in knowing bread would be baking, or hopefully, already be out of the oven.
As a leader, people likely have some anticipation of your arrival for a meeting, or what to expect when you walk into their work area. While it may not carry the fond positive emotions I have just described, what do they anticipate?
As a leader, how do people feel when they think about your presence, your actions and the way you lead? Is it positive? If not, how can you begin to change that anticipation, even a little bit starting today?
The Effort Required is Necessary and Noticed
Anyone can go to the store and pick up a loaf of bread. Making bread requires forethought, planning, effort and time. Even before you take your first delicious bite, you know that effort and care went into creating what you are about to enjoy.
Anyone can be promoted to a role of leadership. Doing it well goes far beyond a job title. To be even marginally effective you must work at it. To become significant (or as I would say remarkable) at it requires dedicated effort to get better at the skills required, and a care for those you are leading. The effort and care will be noticed, as will the lack of it if you lead like a loaf of nondescript store brand white bread.
How much effort are you putting into your role as a leader? If you care about the organization and the people you lead, how does it show?
It Creates Something More
The Grandma homemade bread experience was about more than the bread. It started with the smell. It was inviting. It drew you in, the warmth and aroma adding to the experience. It wasn’t just about a piece of bread for sustenance.
The best leaders are also creating something more – something more lasting, something more real. They aren’t just “doing the work” of a leader, but rather are creating a place and an environment where people can grow and thrive.
What are you creating for your team?
It is Unique
No two loaves of homemade bread are exactly alike. In the store? All the same. Pick up five and you can’t tell them apart. But homemade? All a bit different in how the ingredients interacted with the pan and the heat. They are wonderfully different – and that actually makes it better.
Yes, they need to learn and grow and adapt. Yes, they need to apply principles that will improve their ability to be successful. And they need to be themselves. There is no one perfect way to lead – you must bring yourself, imperfections and all, to the role.
Are you willing to continue to improve but still be yourself? Are you willing to let your team see you as a human as well as a leader?
I made more connections than these between homemade bread and leadership, but I believe these are the strongest and most powerful. If you think of others, please ponder them as well (and share them in the comments below). Mostly though I hope you leave these words hearing my challenges, and taking them on in your own leadership journey.
I also hope this was helpful, and didn’t leave you feeling too hungry.
Homemade bread – yum, yum! I, too, love the smell of homemade bread cooking. I like the feel of the bread dough in my hands and like to see it rising in the pan! I loved your leadership analogy today!
For good homemade bread, the amount of dough used should fit the pan properly. Good homemade bread rises to the top of the pan. If bread doesn’t rise sufficiently, it is heavy, doesn’t soak up the butter and honey as well because of the texture and is just not as good to eat. This reminds me that a good – great – leader is one who will rise to the top, be open and lead with a soft hand. Great leaders are able to hear and understand suggestions or complaints even if they do not agree. Because of their ‘light handed’ leading, they keep the door of communication open. Heavy handed leadership causes feelings of inadequacy and maybe even rebellion thus causing people to keep thoughts and suggestions to themselves and just avoid or stay out of the way of their supervisor/leader….productivity is affected. Maybe the reason a person with leadership skills does not rise to the top is because they are in the wrong position like bread that is in the wrong size pan. It is important to put the right skill set with the right job!
With homemade bread, to have a soft brown crust on top, it is important to brush on a little melted butter. This reminds me, that even the best of leaders need a little stroking – a little extra attention – at times!
Sharon – Thank so much for your delicious addition to this conversation. It is clear that as a baker you have a perspective I don’t have. thanks again!
Kevin 🙂
Gifted leaders, like great chefs, have a knack for taking the ingredients they find on their shelves, putting them together in the right combination to make a nutritional, tasty work of art! No good leader can do this without “turning up the heat” just a little to make sure the environment is right for working collaboratively. But it’s the amateurs that tend to under-bake (afraid to ever make anyone a bit uncomfortable in their attempt to “people-please” more than make a difficult decision), or over-bake (“scorching” others with controlling words or harmful actions). The master chef bakes with patience required to allow the team’s bread to “rise”, challenging them with a warm, but safe environment in which to allow fragile creations to “fully bake.”
Now I’m going to go grab a bite of freshly made apple crisp… but that’s a different story!
Robb – For bread, like leadership, there are recipes, but there isn’t just one recipe, just one right answer. The rest of your metaphor is fantastic as well. Thanks for much for sharing.
Kevin 🙂