A Confidence Mindset For Chefs

In professional kitchens, there's an endless stream of techniques to practice, diverse perspectives to consider, and countless ways to do the same thing. This constant learning can make a traditional, bottom-up culinary education feel more like an obstacle course. Developing your unique style, refining your methods, and truly learning to lead effectively all take time.

Whatever your current role—whether you're a line cook, sous chef, chef de cuisine, or higher—self-confidence is essential. Don't wait for it to magically appear in peak moments. Confidence isn't a light switch you can flip when needed; it's a quality you must consistently cultivate.

Greater confidence is created with the accumulation of small successes that grow over time. But the key here is to be confident at every stage while you’re there, giving you the best chance to handle the adversity you can't foresee. This isn’t hubris. Confidence adds fuel to your effort and work ethic; it doesn’t supplant it.

A leader needs this self-belief just as a fighter needs it to step into the ring or an athlete needs it to win the game.Confidence impacts every single movement you make and directs every decision. It's the difference between consistently winning and painfully losing. In the kitchen, this mindset allows you to anticipate problems before they happen, stay calm under pressure, and lead your team with conviction.

The outdated notion that young cooks and leaders must endure a grueling phase of self-doubt and existential crisis to "earn" acceptance from the old guard should be retired. It's an ineffective, even damaging, approach that holds talented individuals back.

Cultivating Confidence

If you're a chef tasked with developing your team, a far more effective way to build genuine confidence is to encourage them through the inevitable pains of initial failure. Fostering self-belief in your cooks will not only make them better but also accelerate their growth. Similarly, if you're a leader facing a tough situation, a difficult decision, or a massive workload, confidence is the only true fuel. 

Self-doubt, on the other hand, is a heavy weight that will only slow you down.

It's important to differentiate: thoughtfully questioning and evaluating information to find the best way forward is a crucial practice, not self-doubt. And remember, self-confidence doesn't mean you know everything. It means you trust your ability to navigate what you don't know.

What True Confidence Looks Like

True confidence means:

1. Believing in Your Ability to Succeed: You see a win as possible, and you're driven to achieve it, even when the path isn't perfectly clear.

2. Knowing You Can Adapt: You're confident in your capacity to learn and adjust your course along the way.

3. Trusting Your Recovery: You understand that mistakes are part of the process, failure is temporary, and you can learn from setbacks and bounce back stronger.

Confidence Through Uncertainty

When you're the leader, with your team relying on you, you won't always see the exact path laid out step-by-step. This can feel horrifying because all eyes are on you and there might be no clear signs indicating you're on the right track. It's up to you to get everyone to the goal. Like leading an expedition through uncharted territory, you must be persistent.

Constantly changing course out of fear, self-doubt, or insecurity is ineffective and a clear sign of lacking confidence. People cannot fully trust a leader who wavers. Deviating from what you know is right ultimately leads to failure, because you can't achieve an outcome if you don't persist towards your vision of success.

When leading your team through uncertain or difficult times, focus on these strategies:

1. Manage Expectations: Communicate the potential for challenges openly, but then rally your team around the strong likelihood of achieving your shared goal. Foster patience in the process. If you foresee difficulties, tell them so they can prepare. Crucially, articulate the "why"—what's the purpose of their effort and sacrifice? Sharing the value of the pursuit creates shared ownership. Expecting blind followers risks losing good people; instead, build confidence within your team.

2. Be Strategic: You might not know what next week holds, but you do know what needs to happen today, and perhaps this week. Focus on what you can control and execute. As Steve Jobs famously said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them backwards." Do one thing at a time and do it exceptionally well. Each success builds momentum for the next.

3. Communicate Progress: Only focusing on problems and what needs fixing can quickly lead to burnout. What's the point of making improvements if you don't acknowledge them? Make sure your team sees their progress and feels the impact of their successes. Celebrate these wins, then, and only then, can you collectively move on and keep driving forward.

Success builds confidence and confidence builds success. Self-doubt is corrosive and demoralizing, and decreases your ability to succeed in uncertain, learning situations when you otherwise could have. Every day and for the rest of your life, you must change your mindset so that your knowledge and abilities achieve outcomes that help you succeed.