How to manage expectations at a giant operation

No, that’s not a typo: 51,759 undergraduates were enrolled at Ohio State University in the 2015-2016 academic year, making it one of the largest public universities in the country. And while not every student had a meal plan, it’s safe to say that Zia Ahmed, senior director of dining services for the Columbus, Ohio, school, is in charge of both feeding and supervising a massive number of people.

Ahmed says his No. 1 tips for handling the travel, stress and struggle for work-life balance that comes with his job are straightforward: communication and managing people’s expectations. That means “helping people around you understand what the expectations are in terms of how busy or stressed you are,” he says. “The better you manage your expectations with your team and your family members, the better you will be able to manage your stress—and the better they will be able to support you.”

Ahmed shared with FoodService Director several such scenarios, and how he managed expectations to ensure a positive outcome.

At the start of the school year

Because a large percentage of dining services’ workforce is made up of students, the weeks leading up to the new school year are “very understaffed,” Ahmed says. Preparing team members for the experience—and reminding them of the light at the end of the tunnel—is key.

“When we had our fall kickoff meeting, I told them, ‘This is a good time to let family and friends know the next three weeks are going to be tough; you’re going to be tired, not as happy and joyous as you normally are,’” he says. “If you can prepare them, they will be a better support system.”

Taking work home

While he thinks it can work for other people, “I don’t like to take work home with me,” Ahmed says. “That’s my personal choice.” This choice extends to bringing work talk to the dinner table, but that can be a tall order when your job also involves a major sports team. “I’m a very unique individual in a very unique situation; my wife and boys love Ohio State,” he says. “But at the same time, I’m very disciplined. If they don’t ask me, I just don’t talk about it.”

While traveling

When Ahmed became president of the National Association of College and University Food Services, he reached out to past presidents to glean some wisdom. “One said, ‘Zia, I’ll give you advice, and you should take it very seriously: Stay in touch with your team at home and your family as much as possible,’” Ahmed says. “‘[Past presidents] had an excuse; we didn’t have the technology that you do. You have no excuse.’”

Capitalizing on technology while traveling doesn’t have to mean a phone call. While on a monthlong trip China for a student-life staff exchange, Ahmed met with his teammates back in Ohio via Skype, and would visit a local coffee shop nearly every night to send them photos of his day via the WhatsApp chat app. It didn’t have to be foodservice related, either—one morning while he was out for a run, Ahmed spotted a poster of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, so he snapped a selfie to share with the folks back home.