Food-Servce Leadership

Abstract

This article reports on essential leadership qualities of commercial food-service-industry leaders based on survey responses from 51 of the top 1 00 such leaders in the United States. The essential leadership foundations identified are: vision, communication, trust, and perseverance. Those four main qualities were dissected into morespecific characteristics, and respondents agreed on the importance of: credibility, responsibility, dependability, accountability, self-confidence, emotional stamina, and decisiveness. Other factors that emerged include commitment to and understanding of the industry; strong personal values; flexibility; willingness to empower employees; inquisitiveness; a knowledge of the basics of technical areas; and enthusiasm, intensity, and desire. A thorough literature review and bibliography are provided.