The 6 most important lessons for your young managers

From Gay Anderson, child nutrition director for the Brandon Valley School District in Brandon, S.D. Anderson, the current vice president of the School Nutrition Association, has spent decades in various aspects of both noncommercial and restaurant foodservice. 

1. Don’t be afraid to jump in with both feet

After graduating high school at age 16, Anderson moved directly into food management, and within two years held the title of director of operations at two restaurants. “I was extremely shy going in, and they saw something in me,” she says of the restaurants’ owners, who invested the time in teaching Anderson about the business and how to manage older workers. Because of that direct attention, “I fell in love with working with the customers, and I haven’t shut up since.”

2. Purchasing and procurement is more important than you think

During Anderson’s time as director of operations, the restaurant owner found the perfect way to illustrate the value of inventory control. “He took me in the back room, pulled out a $20 bill, laid the bill on the shelf, and he looked at me and said, ‘Every time you over-order or bring in too much product, you’re putting my money on the shelf,’” Anderson says. “[Over-ordering] opens you up for spoilage or theft. That’s one thing I always carry with me.”

3. You don’t have to know it all to do a job well

During the next phase of her foodservice career, Anderson made the move to hospital foodservice, a space that allowed her to build on her love for quantity cooking and hands-on work. This evolved into writing menus as well—something Anderson didn’t know all the regulations for in the hospital environment. But no matter. “I wasn’t a dietitian, so I wrote up what I thought the hospital would want, and then worked with them on nutrition standards,” she says. “It really helped me down the road for walking into school nutrition and standards.”

4. Always admit your mistakes

Just own up to it when you’re wrong—we’re all human, Anderson says. “I used this lesson last week with my staff; I forgot to order our paper supplies,” she says, advising that managers lay out their mistakes and how they’ll fix the problem. Another aspect of this advice: Don’t put yourself above anyone else. “I may be the authority for my staff, but I’m not going to lord it over them,” she says. “[At the same time], I want them to respect me for my actions, and that my word is going to mean something to them.”

5. Take the time to watch and listen before making big changes

This was Anderson’s biggest piece of advice for a new foodservice director who started in the middle of a school year. “Don’t go in like a bull in a china store,” she says. “Watch, learn and understand it, then make changes.” Just because you’re excited and have big ideas doesn’t mean the old ways don’t have merit.

6. Roll with it—and breathe

Anderson pulls this advice from her friend and colleague Sandi Kramer, the child nutrition director at Yankton School District in Yankton, S.D. “Those days where you go, ‘Oh no, what are we going to do?’—just have a plan in place and go with it,” she says. “I believe change is a very good thing. That came from my mother; she was always very flexible in understanding change. It’s very hard for many people to accept, but I thrive on it.”