Unreasonable Hospitality, Learning, & Leadership

"If we became a restaurant focused passionately, intentionally, wholeheartedly on connection and graciousness--on giving both the people on our team and the people we served a sense of belonging--then we'd have a real shot at greatness." Will Guidara

The book Unreasonable Hospitality tells the story of the little restaurant that could. Eleven Madison Park (EMP) earned the title of the best restaurant in the world, and Will Guidara tells how he and chef Daniel Humm brought the restaurant to greatness. I picked up this book hoping to learn some tips on event planning and management, and that's in there, but I learned more about education and leadership. Guidara emphasizes that a feeling of belonging, of being seen and understood, is what made EMP great. Amazing food was a given at any top restaurant, but unheard of hospitality, and an unwavering commitment to excellence, is what helped take the restaurant to greatness.

The research tells us that when college students feel a sense of belonging on campus, they perform better in the classroom, are more likely to persist to graduation, and generally have better outcomes. Relational pedagogy centers on the relationship between the instructor and students, and posits that trusting and respectful relationships are imperative for growth and development. In a conference I attended a few weeks ago about online education, a repeated theme was the importance of getting online students to connect to the material, but also the instructor and other students. Since belonging and connection are so important across all age groups and instructional methods, I'll take ideas from any source, including the hospitable methods employed at EMP.

Guidara lists four questions to ask yourself:

1. How do you make the people who work for you and the people you serve feel seen and valued?

2. How do you give them a sense of belonging?

3. How do you make them feel part of something bigger than themselves?

4. How do you make them feel welcome?

We should ask ourselves these questions in each and every educational setting: a classroom, a leadership workshop, an online course, etc... We should spend as much mental and emotional energy in belonging planning as lesson planning. Making our students feel connected, showing them how the material fits into their lives, that their questions and concerns are as welcome as their right answers, can make the difference between passing a test or actually learning the material. And it makes the experience more enjoyable, for both the student and the instructor. And as Guidara states, "we have the opportunity--a responsibility-- to make magic in a world that desperately needs more of it."

So, lets make some magic!