Barista Counterpoint

Recently, I find myself revisiting my roots and working as a barista at a local St. Arbucks. This is in deference to the repair bills that our little car gave us as a surprise gift, fuelled equally by its sense of solidarity with the ancient minivan we sold to the scrap yard recently, as well as a sense of petty vengeance for the same.

Not surprisingly, St. Arbucks is a fascinating place to observe various leadership styles. And nowhere is that more obvious than during "closing" duties at the end of each day (hint: closing the shop on a daily basis is WAY more work than most would realize).

One of the youngest shift supervisors (all of 19 years of age) is typical of the younger baristas in charge of closing duties: she makes a list of all the necessary jobs that have to be done, and the staff working with her gather around, volunteer for the various duties, and collectively take responsibility for getting everything done. There is a real camaraderie and sense of ownership among the staff working with her, and the list quickly gets dealt with by a team.

One of the older supervisors doesn't give out lists. He expects each person to come to him, and he will then give them their next task. Once you have finished the task, you must come to him for your next task. Initiative is not encouraged -- it's more important that you follow the chain of command.

The obvious is that one approach leads to a friendly atmosphere, while the other actually breeds resentment. Resentment because people feel belittled, un-valued, and chafe at the blatant power play by the older supervisor. He is obviously all about controlling the work environment and controlling who does what around the shop.

Or is that just a harshly judgmental, knee-jerk assumption?

I asked the older supervisor about his approach recently, because (A) when you're in your 40's yet working in a coffee shop, you can get away with these kind of questions, and (B) since I'm only at St. Arbucks for the summer, I have nothing to lose.

Turns out he isn't actually opposed to lists at all, but chooses this approach so that everyone becomes a better barista. "People tend to always do the same tasks -- the ones they're most comfortable with -- so they don't expand their skill set, and that's when they start complaining about being bored with the same old, and staff morale goes down the toilet," he explained. "This way, at least I can keep rotating who does what, and everyone becomes skilled at a wider variety of tasks, so the team is better equipped and more confident in themselves."

And herein lies the rub: I see both sides. The younger barista is frankly better at creating an atmosphere of community, teamwork, camaraderie, and ownership. But it's the older supervisor who is far more intentional and effective in training people to go beyond their comfort zones, actually helping them "grow".

I'm just sayin'...