This conversation about leadership and "What Every Senior Executives Can Learn From Top Chefs" with Chef Andre Natera should have taken place at the SXSW CMO Clubhouse in Austin, TX back in March.  Obviously, with the pandemic situation the event was canceled and we recorded our discussion about leadership as an episode for my podcast "flavors unknown".
What we covered in this episode

Chef Andre Natera starts the conversation with an overview  of his career that led him to be the executive Chef at the Fairmont in Austin in Texas. He manages directly and indirectly about 150 people.
"Awake and Ready!" means we hare here, we are focus, and be ready for what is going to come at you today.
The first aspect of leadership in the kitchen is about discipline and consistency.
Leadership is about motivating your teams, offering them opportunities, setting goals, and giving them a sense of purpose.
The third element of leadership is mentorship. Everything is designed to push people our of their comfort zone and help them overcome obstacles that they are facing in their career.
Creating the framework in the environment where people can be inspired is another aspect of leadership for Chef Andre Natera.
In our discussion we focused on how Chefs are leading creative teams.
The fifth critical aspect of leadership is the hiring process. How do you place people in the right position and a position for future success?
What are the keys to developing the next generation of leaders in this industry?
 Having a common purpose is key for breaking down silos and encourage collaboration.
Series of rapid-fire questions.
Link to the podcast episode on Apple Podcast 

Links to other episodes in Austin
Conversation with 3 Chefs in Austin (Chef Andre Natera, Chef Kevin Fink, and Chef Fiore Tedesco) – Vol 1

Conversation with 3 Chefs in Austin (Chef Andre Natera, Chef Kevin Fink, and Chef Fiore Tedesco) – Vol 2

Chef Fiore Tedesco – L'Oca D'Oro

Chef Michael Fojtasek – Olamaie



Chef André Natera
from Fairmont Austin
A year ago I had a conversation with
Chef Andre Natera at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin, TX.
Check out the episode
by clicking on the picture on the left.


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Andreé Natera / Me





Coaching at Garrison restaurant with Chef Andre Natera





Plating at the Garrison restaurant with Chef Andre Natera





Leadership in action with Chef Andre Natera






Chef Andre Natera and the team at Garrison





Chef Andre Natera and @flavorsunknown





Garrison entrance Fairmont Hotel Austin





Caviar Chips at Garrison Austin




Submitted questions from podcast listeners
How to develop future leaders?


Be a good example for the next generation of leaders.
Develop them. Mentor them. Spend time with them. Coach them. And you also need to give them room to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes.
Challenge them and hold them accountable, allow them to fail, hold them accountable for their failures, make sure they're learning from their failures. Push them out of their comfort zone and continue to develop them and not allow them to become complacent.
Allow them to lead, allow them to get in front of people, push them to speak publicly, push them to make tough decisions. And even when they're not ready, but sometimes just doing it will start to build their confidence.


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When we talk about discipline in the workplace, it's the discipline to do the right things that are good for the customer and that are good for the rest of your team.
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