General Manager at Holbox

Early in my career, I was encouraged to work with as many different kinds of people and in as many different types of operations as I could. The idea was to expose myself to different leadership styles, environments, service models, and ways of doing things so I could learn from all of them and ultimately understand what kind of leader I wanted to become. That advice has stayed with me. Every operation and every person I’ve worked with has taught me something, sometimes what I wanted to emulate and sometimes what I wanted to do differently.

Curiosity and humility are huge for me when hiring. I look for people who are willing to ask questions and who are comfortable saying, “I don’t know, but I’d like to learn.” You can teach someone a lot of technical skills, but it’s much harder to teach someone to be curious, receptive to feedback, and genuinely interested in getting better.

Hospitality moves incredibly quickly, and there are always competing priorities, so being able to manage your own time and stay organized is essential. But equally important is empathy, whether you’re interacting with an employee, a guest, or another leader. Taking the time to understand where someone is coming from allows you to respond thoughtfully rather than simply react.

I find so much of my inspiration in my team. Getting to know the people you work with, their “why,” what motivates them, what matters to them, and what they hope to accomplish makes the work much more meaningful to me. It inspires me to work harder for them, to nurture their growth, and to create opportunities for them to realize their potential. One of the most rewarding parts of leadership is watching someone begin to see something in themselves that maybe they didn’t see before.

For me, self-care starts with managing my time and creating space around the work. Hospitality is fast-paced, stressful, and often high-stakes. I’ve learned that when I arrive early rather than rushing in, give myself time to prepare, and end my day by reflecting on what went well and where there are opportunities to improve, I’m much less stressed and reactive. I also made the decision a few years ago to stop drinking, and that has been one of the best self-care decisions I’ve ever made. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. If anything, I feel more present and more a part of my life and everything I get to experience.

For restaurant news, I regularly check Restaurant Business and Nation’s Restaurant News. For leadership and management, I enjoy HBR IdeaCast, WorkLife with Adam Grant, and Coaching for Leaders. I also follow SHRM to stay current on HR, employee relations, compliance, and workplace issues. For restaurant-specific listening, I like A Deeper Dive, Restaurant Unstoppable, and Take-Away with Sam Oches. I also follow FSR, Restaurant Dive, and Eater to stay connected to what’s happening across hospitality. And for something that bridges professional interest with my genuine love of food, I really enjoy Evan Kleiman’s Good Food. I love conversations that remind me that restaurants are businesses, but food and hospitality are also deeply connected to culture, people, and community. I like having this mix because I’m interested in the business of restaurants, leadership and HR, but I also still love food and hospitality simply because I love this industry.

I think pre-shift is one of the most valuable tools we have. It’s an opportunity every day to plant little seeds of encouragement, inspiration, and education rather than simply reviewing the mechanics of service.

I love encouraging team members to go out to eat, experience other restaurants, and then bring those experiences back to the team. What did you love? What made you feel taken care of? Where did you see an opportunity? What could we learn from it? Those conversations help people develop a much deeper understanding of hospitality.

At Holbox specifically, Chef places a tremendous emphasis on collaborations with outstanding chefs and restaurant teams. Watching our team become exposed to different cuisines, techniques, people, and ways of operating is incredibly rewarding. You can see them light up and absorb it. After a collaboration, I especially love reconnecting with the team and asking, “What did you learn?” Those conversations are often just as valuable as the event itself.

I would tell my younger self not to leave before I’ve learned the lesson I’m supposed to learn. Looking back, there were times in my career when I was impatient. If something wasn’t going the way I wanted it to, my instinct could be to move on rather than sit in the discomfort and ask what the situation might be trying to teach me. I had to learn humility and right-size my ego. It’s okay not to love every season of your career. Being uncomfortable doesn’t automatically mean you’re in the wrong place. I’ve learned that there is tremendous value in learning to suit up and show up, not only when things are exciting and going your way, but especially when they aren’t. How you show up during adversity builds character, and some of my greatest growth has come from those seasons.

You never have to go through anything alone. Find your tribe, the people you trust, the people you can be honest with, and the people who will support you while also telling you the truth when you need to hear it. Struggle is part of being human, and this industry can be especially demanding. Let people in. Ask for help. Allow yourself to be supported. There is so much strength in having a community around you.

I genuinely believe I have just as much to learn from other leaders as I could ever offer them. But if I were to share something from my own experience, it would be this: leadership gives us a unique opportunity to be of service. We get to serve our employees, our guests, and our communities. That doesn’t mean avoiding accountability or difficult conversations, in fact, sometimes being of service means having those conversations. But it does mean asking ourselves what our motivation is and remembering that leadership isn’t really about us. I’ve found that when you lead from a genuine desire to be useful, to help people grow, and to leave things a little better than you found them, something pretty special happens. That’s where the magic of hospitality lives for me.