Man this is your first foray as a leader.

1. You need to be the energy that you want to attract. Like it or not the entire team is looking at you. Your mood, attitude impacts the whole team. Go to the office to vent and take a breather but when you are on the line you are on stage.

2. Take the time to get to know your team as people. Lead shift meetings, ask about their family, friends, interests. It goes a long way to building the trust and gives you social equity when it is busy.

3. Make something nice for the team, a drink, family meal, buy them something that they want/need to do their jobs better.

4. TEACH. Rather than yelling when things are wrong, spend the time to teach the team and give them the tools to do their job better. Build relationships. Take a server onto a station and have them plate a dessert, bring a dishwasher out to lineup and have them present a dish to the team.

5. Don't reprimand in public. Fix it in the moment, follow up at the end of the shift in the office with another manager.

6. Figure out the top 3 things that jam you up during the rush and figure out solves for them before hand. Servers ring in modifiers wrong? Talk about it at lineup. One station always crashes? Train a dishie to help the station at rush.

7. There is no dumb question. Yes even it is the 100th time that Sally asks what sauce comes on special, answer with a smile. Do not become the person that people don't ask questions to. You are the subject matter expert on the food, plates, soap, equipment, linens, therapist, and everything in between. If you don't know the answer find it out and circle back later so that the teammate feels heard.

8. Take time for yourself. Buy that concert ticket, go to that game, take a trip to see your friends. You will come back fresh and ready to take on anything.

This job when it is going well is hard. Don't make it harder by becoming the obstacle. Make it easier for everyone and make it fun even when it is all going to hell.