The Unreasonable Leader: Why Breaking Expectations Unlocks True Efficiency

Results-driven leaders are notoriously impatient with execution. When it comes to completing a task, speed is everything. They want it done faster—always faster.

So, they push their teams, urging them to shave time off processes, no matter how small the gains. If execution teams manage to deliver marginal improvements, the pressure continues. If they don’t, the impatience only intensifies. But here’s the catch: no one enjoys this cycle—not the leader demanding urgency, nor the team members who feel the weight of unrealistic expectations. And worse, this approach rarely produces significant breakthroughs.

The problem isn’t just the leader’s impatience. It’s the limitations placed on execution in the first place.

Breaking Free from Expectations

People operate within the constraints they believe are realistic. Execution teams assume a certain pace, and leaders—frustrated by the slow crawl of progress—ask for incremental improvements. The result? Predictable and underwhelming outcomes.

A more effective leader wouldn’t demand a 10% speed increase. Instead, they would ask a seemingly impossible question: How can we cut execution time in half—or more?

At first, the reaction is predictable—disbelief, skepticism, even outright resistance. To most teams, such a demand feels impossible, a fool’s errand. But the real challenge isn’t the goal itself—it’s the assumptions we make about what’s possible.

By reframing the discussion and stripping away these self-imposed limits, leaders often uncover hidden efficiencies, creative solutions, or entirely new ways of thinking about execution. Even if they don’t hit that dramatic 50% reduction, the process generates ideas far superior to conventional problem-solving methods.

How This Mindset Transforms Front-of-House Training

This is exactly the kind of thinking that needs to be applied to front-of-house staff education in private clubs. Too often, training is viewed as a slow, linear process—onboarding new hires, walking them through service expectations, and hoping they pick up the details over time. It’s a costly, inefficient system that assumes mastery happens through sheer repetition.

But what if we turned that assumption on its head? What if clubs could cut training time in half without sacrificing quality?

By reimagining staff education, clubs can streamline the learning process, ensuring employees not only retain knowledge faster but apply it with confidence. My approach to front-of-house training does just that. Instead of outdated manuals and passive training sessions, I work directly with culinary teams to develop dynamic, easily digestible menu guides, paired with interactive study tools and online testing methods. This ensures that staff not only learn faster but also retain and apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios—boosting both guest satisfaction and team efficiency.

Burn the Box

Expectations are the enemy of innovation. They keep teams stuck in familiar ruts, avoiding risks and disregarding radical solutions. But when you force yourself—and your team—to think without the limits of conventional wisdom, incredible breakthroughs become possible.

So, the next time you’re frustrated by slow execution, don’t demand a minor improvement. Set an audacious goal. Push the boundaries of what’s considered possible. And when people resist? Lean in. Because true leaders don’t just think outside the box—they burn the box altogether.