Who's in charge in the kitchen?

My husband and I are avid fans of BBC’s Masterchef each year, and it inspires us to try all things culinary although we are not even vaguely good at it.  After each attempt, the kitchen looks as if we’ve just survived a hurricane and we use every pan in the kitchen to create one titchy soufflé.

However the subject of leadership cropped up during one recent episode which showed Ping Coombes being part of a team of three cooking food for the cast and crew of EastEnders and she was elected to be the team’s captain.

Her team members were Jack and Michael, the former is a 22 year old confident but calm talent with real inventive flair, and the latter is older at 30, is quietly spoken, dependable and sticks to his roots (he basically does our kind of food but it’s more posh). 

From the off, Ping was demonstrating not only the speed and skill needed to produce 60 main courses and desserts but the leadership skills needed to execute the project and motivate her team.  Cooking at this level is an art.  Being able to get someone to do what you want because they want to do it makes leadership an art form too (as Eisenhower famously quoted).

In the main, effective leaders:

Don’t issue instructions.  Instead, where appropriate, they take charge. 

Ping agreed the tasks with Jack and Michael beforehand and then drafted up worksheets to keep everyone on track.  She also took responsibility when things were tricky and put things back on track when they went pear shaped (no pun intended) – all vital things when you have both time and resource pressures. 

Are good motivators, inspiring people to take their lead and getting the most from existing resources and they are passionate and confident.  Leaders also recognise the skills of each team member and how they can be best used.

Jack was on pastry (and he’s ace at it) and Michael indicated was given a less creative job of preparing the fish for the main and he, to our amusement, said “it’s got to be done I am the only who can be trusted with such an expensive, quality ingredient”.  OK, he probably wanted a sexier job at that time, but for the sake of the team he got stuck in.

Have the energy, determination and resilience and bring initiative and competitive drive to the team. 

Ping has this in spades and the personality to go with it.  She appeared to have the trust and respect of her team members.  Both are vital in leadership

This evening hubby was again feeling creative in the kitchen.  Whilst I languished on the sofa with a glass of wine, he produced chicken Ballantine with shiitake mushrooms with a red wine reduction and steamed samphire.  That’s roughly translated into sausages, gravy and veg. 

Whilst I ignored his shouts for sous chef assistance (he wanted me to wash up a pan I think), I am hungry to expand this blog into one about gender and get you cooking up a storm.  Are women better than men at leadership?  Who is better at stepping in and getting their hands dirty?  Who is more likely to be focused on themselves rather than on the team?  Who is more likely to write it down so everyone has a clear plan to follow?

If you watched this Masterchef episode and noticed the other team's performance, you may get a clue as to my answer to those questions........!