Emotional Proficiency for Excellence - INSEADflora.insead.edu/fichiersti_wp/InseadEMCCCtheseswave19/84340.pdfEmotional Proficiency for Excellence Learning from the Great Chefs of the

Emotional Proficiency for Excellence Learning from the Great Chefs of the World

Miguel Martinez Noguerol

Executive Master in Consulting and Coaching for Change

INSEAD - Fontainebleau

November, 13th 2016

Miguel Martinez Noguerol EMCCC16S - Master Thesis 1 Miguel Martinez Noguerol EMCCC16S - Master Thesis 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT 2 KEYWORDS 3 INTRODUCTION 3

RESEARCH AIM, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES 8

LITERATURE REVIEW 10

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17 DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH SETTING 21

Subjects Selection, Access and General information 21

Business Dynamics and Trends of the Global Restaurant Industry 23

Selection of Research Setting and Personal Motivations 25

DATA GATHERING, REPORTING AND INTEGRATION OF FINDINGS 27

Identification of Main Themes and Integration of Conceptual Models 27

Integrating Findings in a Conceptual Framework – Emotional

Proficiency for Excellence 37

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 40

Integration of Emotion-based Constructs into Leadership Archetypes 40

“The Passionate Nonconformist “ Leadership Archetype 41

“The Determined Eagle Eye” Leadership Archetype 46

“The Trusted Coach “ Leadership Archetype 50

LIMITATIONS 55

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 56

CONCLUSION 57 APPENDICES 60

APPENDIX 1 - Semi-structured Interview (Reference Questionnaire) 60 APPENDIX 2 - Expanded List of Selected Interview Narratives 67

APPENDIX 3 - Inductive Analysis – Map of Themes and Categories 73

APPENDIX 4 - Research Study Group (Chef’s additional information) 78

BIBLIOGRAPHY 80

ACKOWLEDGMENTS 91


ABSTRACT

Over the past 30 years, extensive research has suggested that transformational leadership behavior, the emotional intelligence capability, and building the appropriate emotional context in organizations can impact leadership effectiveness in such a way as to drive excellence, innovation, and change.

Over this period, these theories have been developed and researched mostly within their individual domains. What we have yet to see is a holistic application of these theoretical frameworks and an examination of their interrelationship within high-performing organizations.

Among high performing organizations, the gastronomic restaurant segment has shown itself to confront many of the leadership challenges that other industries, corporate leaders, and entrepreneurs face. Executive chefs and chef-owners have a significant leadership role to play in guiding people in this environment through a variety of operational and social processes. Among them, there is an elite group of successful leaders and organizations that are recognized as best-in-class, operate with excellence and deliver great customer experience.

This study aims to explore and integrate a holistic view of emotion-based leadership behaviors and to do so by investigating: (1) What are the predominant emotional proficiency constructs identified in a group of best-in-class gastronomic restaurants chefs? And (2) How these competencies are demonstrated to enable operational excellence and optimal customer’s experiences in their business environment?

In this study, I identified twelve predominant constructs and integrated them into a leadership competency model, and into three leadership archetypes—Passionate Nonconformist, Determined Eagle Eye, and Trusted Coach—the components of which appeared to have a positive impact on leadership effectiveness and organizational excellence.


KEYWORDS

Leadership Effectiveness, Emotional Proficiency, Customer Experience Excellence, Emotional Intelligence, Change Leadership, Transformational Leadership, Haute Cuisine and Gastronomy Leadership.

INTRODUCTION

Over the last 30 years since I started to work professionally as an executive, I have

observed an increased interest by scholars in investigating the impact of emotion-based

leadership behaviors as vehicles for enabling excellence in high-performance

organizations and accelerating the necessary process of fast innovation, strategy

changes, and operational efficiency improvements.

In this same period, I have watched new technologies and business process innovations

emerging in many business segments, including but not limited to information technology,

communications, production automation, commerce, customer services, and even

access to capital. These evolving business dynamics created an increased global

competition and accelerated the need for more efficient business process, strategy

changes, culture evolution and even radical transformation.

Organizations from different segments have also been adapting to the effects of a more

diverse generation of employees joining the workforce daily. They are highly educated

and demand updated and best-in-class management and leadership practices. The

customers have also increased their expectations, and perception of quality and now can

access products and services through multiple channels, anytime and anywhere.

The pace of organizational change, evolution, and transformation created by all these

events has increased the challenges for organizations and their leaders. They need to

respond with determination, innovation, and agility while enabling a working environment

that can facilitate change and the alignment of individuals and groups towards

organization goals.


The interest of academia on investigating the impact of emotion-based leadership

practices, and the emergence of many new theories in this area of study, are strongly

connected with this pace of change, demanded by these technological advances and the

new business environment.

A diverse set of individual and group emotions (Huy, Q.N., 2002) can usually arise as a

result of these challenging market forces in action, and we can observe a variety of effects

and final outcomes in organization and individuals, including resistance to change,

individuals, and group self-defense responses in action. My desire to explore individual

and group emotional capabilities and their leadership behaviors enabling excellence in

an organization and facing these continuous market and industry challenges fueled a

long-standing burning question. It ultimately influenced the selection of my research topic.

After an extensive initial literature review in the area of emotion-based leadership

behaviors, I selected three core theories to reference for further exploration in the context

of this study. They are transformational leadership theory (Burns, 1978; Bass, B. M.,

Stogdill, R.M., 1990; Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J., 1993), emotional intelligence (Salovey

& Mayer, 1990; Bar-On, R. M., 2006; Goleman,1995) and an emotion-based view of

strategic renewal (Huy, Q, 2005).

During my initial literature review, I noticed that most of the published research in these

three areas was developed in the course of the last three to four decades, in different

periods of time and had emphasized each study in its individual or single domain area.

These studies proposed and tested the validation of several hypotheses exploring the

effects of the proposed theoretical frameworks in a diverse field of subjects and research

settings. However, there was a limited exploration of the interrelation of these different

theories and their elements in action together, and few approached this study with an

expanded and holistic lens.

I also noticed a predominance of studies in the areas of emotional intelligence and

transformation leadership using self-reported instruments and applying the quantitative


analysis approach to developing, testing, and validating theoretical frameworks and

hypothesis propositions.

Despite that many self-reporting research tools were exhaustively, tested and evolved

over the last several decades, the concept of social desirability bias called into question

the validity of these instruments (Fisher, R., & Katz, J. E., 2008). These issues regarding

the validity of the instruments continued to generate intense debate for several years,

particularly in the areas of psychological and sociological testing.

Considering the expected diversity and complexity of the field of study, I opted to

approach the study with an open mind and to subscribe to the constructivist paradigm,

extending my focus and attention to the socio-cultural context of people’s experiences.

(Charmaz, 2006)

I have selected to follow a qualitative method to analyze raw data, using a grounded

theory lens and applying the general inductive approach (Thomas, D.R., 2006). The

primary data source is comprised of semi-structured interviews, real stories narratives

and researcher on-site customer experience and observations.

Instead of focusing on a single dimension or theory, my proposal is to investigate the co-

existence of different elements or constructs. Guided by the three selected theoretical

frameworks, I propose to explore, through a holistic lens, the interrelation, and co-

existence of these elements, and identify new emerging themes that could integrate some

of these items together.

As a result of a preliminary analysis, I proposed a referential theoretical framework to

guide the investigation of the research question on the selected study group.


Figure 1 - Emotional Proficiency for Excellence (Referential Theoretical Framework)

In my initial research and evaluation of alternatives industry segments and groups to

serve as subjects and research context, I reflected about a couple of personal and past

experiences outside the information technology sector, where I had been working for

many years. I looked for groups or organizations that could represent some of the

challenges encountered in a larger group of global corporations, and entrepreneurs of

different sizes and segments.

My curiosity about how a group of recognized top gastronomic restaurants excels in the

areas of innovation and customer experience, and how the chef’s leadership impact

organizational excellence grew out of my long-term passion for the culinary arts and great

food. It influenced the selection of the context and subjects for my initial research.

The gastronomic restaurant segment confronts many leadership challenges that are

similar in nature to those faced by other industries enterprises and entrepreneurs. They

have to face intense competition against evolving and alternative business models and

technology advances. They rely heavily on talent and innovation. They are sensitive to


the diversity and new generation of individuals that are joining the workforce daily, and

they must operate with a high level of efficiency and provide a quality experience for their

customers.

The subject’s group selected consisted of twenty-three recognized top chefs in the

gastronomic restaurant segment from twelve different countries and nationalities. They

are part of the elite world of professional chefs and lead their respective organization to

be best–in-class regarding operations and customer experience. They were all ranked

by recognized industry review institutions like the Michelin Guide or the World’s 50 Best

Restaurants list.

The core primary data captured and analyzed consisted of a combination of fifteen semi-

structured recorded on-site interviews with fifteen top Chefs, which I conducted. Added

to this were my evaluation of the full customer experience and my observations regarding

the food, service, and ambiance in the Chef’s Restaurant site. An additional set of ten

video documentaries that included real stories and valuable insights about other ten top

chefs and leaders complemented the data sources. More than thirty-five hours of

transcript audio were analyzed and coded under the lens of proposed theoretical

framework, to identify relevant categories and themes following the selected qualitative

research method and the application of the general inductive approach.

The study identified the predominance of twelve emotional proficiency constructs present

in the selected subjects group, including, flexibility, stress tolerance, interpersonal

relationship, emotional self-awareness, “walk the talk”, individual consideration,

enthusiasm and optimism, innovation and creativity, and emotion-eliciting actions in the

areas of open communication, enhanced recognition, vision, and meaningful work. The

study suggests that these constructs have multiple and positive effects on the

organization’s emotional context. They were integrated into a comprehensive

competency model and analyzed regarding three leadership archetypes—Passionate

Nonconformist, Determined Eagle Eye, and Trusted Coach—We can leverage them as

references for leadership development in different organizations and industries.


RESEARCH AIM, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES

This study aims to contribute to the field of investigation of leadership behavior, by

exploring the emotion-based constructs identified in the leaders of best-in-class

organizations, recognized in their segment for providing excellent customer experiences.

The proposal approached the study with the holistic and constructivist lens and looks to

leverage pre-selected and well considered theoretical frameworks, as referential to

investigated, interrelation and co-existence of elements and identification of new

emerging themes, which can provide additional insights and meaning to the phenomena.

The selection of the study group as members of the gastronomic restaurants’ segment

aims to contribute to the study of the sector itself, by expanding previous research that in

recent years had been mostly focused on the area of innovation and creativity.

There are very few studies that have concentrated on the field of leadership behaviors in

that segment. The most comprehensive and extensive study I reviewed in this area was

the 2002 doctoral dissertation by Katherine Balazs (2002), about Gastronomic

Restaurants – Leadership, Creativity, and Organization culture. She referenced

emotional intelligence and transformational leadership constructs in that study, and there

were valuable insights and concepts discovered at that time. In this study, I aim to narrow

the focus on the emotion-based leadership context. I also want to leverage and integrate

the research developed by Dr. Quy Huy, in the area of emotional eliciting actions for

strategic renewal and radical change (Huy, Q., 2005), as one of the fundamental pillars

of the proposed referential framework for the investigation.

The selected study group itself configures a small sub-segment of the total restaurant

industry. However, they serve as a local and global reference for the whole industry, on

standards of quality, innovation and being on the vanguard of influencing industry trends

by positioning themselves at the forefront of new developments and ideas. All restaurant

industry leaders can benefit from the findings, concepts and referenced theoretical


frameworks reviewed in this thesis. This work will allow them to explore real-life

application to their day-to-day activities and organization leadership development.

The segment and subjects selected shared many similar challenges with other

organizations of different sizes and scale. Top gastronomy restaurant chefs have been

increasing their visibility in the media over the last twenty years, and there is an increased

curiosity, respect, and sometimes admiration for their leadership style and profile.

By selecting the top gastronomy chefs as the study subject, I aim to attract interest in and

motivate reflection about the relevance of emotion-based leadership in organizations. It

configures an exploration and the development of a metaphor of leadership behavior in

action to facilitate an understanding of the meaning of real life stories of successful

leaders. This research approach can be relevant and benefit many other organization

leaders, from different segments, allowing them to reflect and integrate the findings into

their own professional and leadership development.

There are two main research questions explored in this study: (1) What are the

predominant emotional proficiency constructs identified in a group of best-in-class

gastronomic restaurants chefs? And (2) How these competencies are demonstrated to

enable operational excellence and optimal customer’s experiences in their business

environment?

In essence, my proposition is to integrate the three selected and existent emotion-based

leadership theories and investigate the complexity and possible interaction of different

emotion-based leadership elements together. By framing the concept as “Emotional

Proficiency for Excellence,” I aim to motivate future studies, focused on the interaction of

multiple emotion-based leadership constructs and their impact on organization

excellence. The proposed framework to be explored suggests that successful leaders of

best-in-class organizations and enterprises that excel in operations and customers

experience would do well to leverage a set of EQ capabilities, through the use of

transformational leadership behaviors, therein creating emotion-eliciting actions that will

allow them to manage the organization emotional context and achieve success.


LITERATURE REVIEW

This section aims to review the three fundamental theoretical pillars integrated into the

proposed referential and conceptual framework of Emotional Proficiency for Excellence,

including the key concepts of the constructs introduced.

Transformational Leadership

Among the extensive study of the effects of leadership on organizational effectiveness

and excellence, transformational leadership has indeed attracted the interest and focus

of many social sciences researchers for more than three decades.

Transformational leadership has been associated with business unit performance

(Barling et al.,1996; Geyery and Steyrer, 1998; Howell and Avolio, 1993), and having a

positive impact on subordinates’ satisfaction (Hater and Bass, 1988) and trust (Barling et

al., 2000; Pillai et al., 1999; Podsakoff et al.,1996) in leadership. Transformational leaders

can dramatically influence a team environment when they change the attitudes and

values of their followers in the direction of collective goals (Bass, Avolio, Jung, & Berson,

2003).

The positive effects of transformational leadership on leader effectiveness and

performance were found at the individual, group, and organizational level (Hur et Al.,

2011, Burke et al., 2006; Judge & Piccolo, 2004).

The theory of transforming leadership was initially developed by Burns (1978). He

proposed a differentiation between the transactional leaders, who depend heavily on

exchange and-or transaction with their followers to generate results and the transforming

leaders who look for potential motives in followers, seeking to satisfy higher needs and

engaging the full person of the follower (Burns, 1978: 4).

The components of transformational and transactional leadership have been identified in

a variety of ways, including through the use of factor analysis, observations, interviews,

and description of a follower’s ideal leader. Using the Multifactor Leadership


Questionnaire (MLQ-Form 5X), Avolio, Bass, and Jung identified the distinct components

of transformational leadership (Bass, B. M., Avolio, B. J., Jung, D. I., & Berson, Y., 2003).

This instrument had been extensively used to develop and expand the research to

evaluate the correlation between organizational effectiveness and transformational

leadership style and identify the four components of what Avolio (Avolio et al., 1999)

referred to as a higher order construct of transformational leadership. That higher order

construct included:

Idealized Influence: These leaders are admired, respected, and trusted. Followers

identify with and want to emulate their leaders. Among the things the leader does to earn

credit with team members is to consider followers’ needs over his or her needs. The

leader shares risk with followers and is consistent in conduct regarding his/her underlying

ethics, principles, and values.

Inspirational Motivation: Leaders behave in ways that motivate those around them by

providing meaning and challenge to their followers’ work. Individual and team spirit is

aroused. Enthusiasm and optimism are displayed. The leader encourages followers to

envision attractive future states, which they can ultimately envision for themselves.

Intellectual stimulation: Intellectual stimulation. Leaders stimulate their followers’ effort

to be innovative and creative by questioning assumptions, reframing problems, and

approaching old situations in new ways. There is no ridicule or public criticism of individual

members’ mistakes. New ideas and creative solutions to problems are solicited from

followers, who are included in the process of addressing problems and finding solutions.

Individual consideration: Individualized consideration. Leaders pay attention to each

other’s need for achievement and growth by acting as a coach or mentor. Followers are

developed to successively higher levels of potential. New learning opportunities are

created along with a supportive climate in which to grow. Individual differences regarding

needs and desires are recognized.


EQ- Emotional Intelligence

Another core element of leadership that had been the focus of many academic articles

and research is emotional intelligence. Researchers have worked to not only define it but

also to examine its effects on leadership effectiveness in organizations and its capacity

to facilitate innovation and change.

Salovey and Mayer (1990) were the first to establish the term “emotional intelligence” (EI).

In their study, they proposed a framework describing a set of skills considered relevant to

the accurate appraisal and expression of emotion in self and in others, the effective

regulation of emotion in self and others, and the use of feeling to motivate, plan, and

achieve in one’s life (Kerr, R. et al., 2006, Salovey and Mayer, 1990: 185).

Building on their original conceptualization, Mayer and Salovey (1997) proposed an ability

model with four core constructs:

Identifying emotions – The capacity to recognize how you and those around you are

feeling.

Using emotion to facilitate thought – The ability to generate an emotion, and then

reason with this emotion.

Understand emotions – The capacity to understand complex emotions and emotional

“chains,” that is, how emotions shift from one stage to another.

Manage emotions – The ability to manage emotions in yourself and others.

Goleman (1995) identified several features of emotional intelligence that impact effective

relationship management and are required to develop and maintain healthy emotional

relationships (Sosik & Megerian, 1999), including self-awareness, self-motivation,

empathy, and emotional control. Leaders can have a positive impact on their leadership

effectiveness and team effectiveness by establishing, manage and maintain a healthy

emotional relationship with team members (Goleman, 1995; Sosik & Megerian, 1999).


Since the initial conceptualization by Salovey and Mayer (1990), we have watched the

development of several instruments pursuing the adequate assessment of EI regarding

both individuals and leadership teams. One of the tools that had been used extensively

in organizations to access EI, is the Bar-On model (the EQ-i) instrument which is a self-

reporting measurement tool that consists of 133 items in the form of short sentences and

a 5-point scale (Bar-On, R. M., 2006).

The responses render a total score utilizing the following five composite scale with 15

subscales scores:


Emotion-Eliciting Actions for Strategic Renewal – The Emotional Context Facilitating Organizational Transitions

Huy (Huy, Q.,1999) proposed a multilevel framework, where at the individual level,

“emotional intelligence” behaviors are derived from the recognition and use of his/her and

others’ emotional states to solve problems and regulate behavior.

At the organization level, emotional capability refers to an organizations’ ability to

acknowledge, recognize, monitor, discriminate, and attend to its members’ emotions, and

it is manifested in the organization’s norms and routines related to feeling (Huy, Q., 1999;

Schein, 2010).

After more than a decade of continuous research, since his initial studies in the areas of

emotional capability, emotional Intelligence and radical change (Huy, Q., 1999), Huy

(2005) published a new proposal and theoretical conceptualization based on specific

emotion-management actions (Huy, Q., 2005). It can enable an emotional context in

which individuals and organizational groups feel or express authenticity, sympathy, hope,

fun and attachment at work. This model outlines the ways in which these actions facilitate

some of the important process underlying strategic renewal (Huy, Q., 1999) and can

promote the realization of the radical change process.


(Huy, Q., 2005) model consolidated some propositions establishing emotion-eliciting

actions for strategic renewal.

(1) Actions that express authenticity enhance the change recipients’ trust in the change

managers and increase the sharing of knowledge and organizational learning.

(2) Organizational actions that express sympathy increase the change recipients’

receptivity to the proposed change.

(3) Actions that elicited hope increase the change recipients’ collective mobilization for a

change.

(4) Organizational actions that elicit fun increase creativity.

(5) Organizational actions that elicit attachment increase the loyalty and retention of the

key employees.

Organizational processes expressing authenticity can facilitate consistency between

organizational messaging, action, and feelings (Huy, Q., 2005), moving that organization

toward its focus of achieving it organizational goals.

Emotional authenticity in an organization can impact the individual and collective its

organizational trust by encouraging open and honest communication among team

members. Emotional authenticity can be created within an organization when it works to

elicit actions and processes that build an organizational climate in which members can

voice their true feelings, thoughts, ideas, and input. (Huy, Q., 2005)

Organizational processes that focus on expressing sympathy can increase receptivity

to change (Huy, Q., 2005). These processes involve actions that show respect for the

change recipients’ identities and demonstrate care about recipient welfare.

The leader’s expression of sympathy rather than one that is judgmental can provide

support and encouragement for the required shared meaning construction about the

proposal for change (Huy, Q., 2005).


The expression of sympathy in organizations can support the bridge between “endings”

and “new beginnings” that requires an adequate time be set aside for the mourning

process be completed. When in the “neutral zone” (Bridges, 1991), individuals will need

sufficient time to reflect on the past and develop new perspectives for the future (Huy, Q.,

2005).

Organizational processes that elicit hope can increase collective mobilization for a

change (Huy, Q., 1999). Hope buffers people against apathy and depression and

strengthens their capacity to persist under adversity; it bolsters people’s belief that they

have both the will and the means to accomplish goals (Huy, Q., 2005, Snyder et al., 1991).

Individuals and organizational leaders can demonstrate and elicit hope in many ways

(Huy, Q., 2005):

- By remaining hopeful and resilient in the face of adversity or an occasional setback.

- By establishing and communicating a compelling vision, promoting and connecting it

with a positive future.

- By creating meaningful and realistic change goals.

- By encouraging cheerful interactions between organization members, uplift rituals,

and award ceremonies that recognize and celebrate success.

Another emotional eliciting action that can facilitate organizational transition and change

relates to individual and organization playfulness and fun environment.

Fun is an emotional state, and it is connected with happiness, that is also an emotional

intelligence construct (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010). Fun fuels intrinsic motivation, which

represents one of the necessary preconditions for creativity (Huy, Q., 1999, Amabile,

1988).

Literature suggested that actions focused on the task and organization-level factors and

workgroup support (Huy, Q., 2005) can create a playful organizational climate, which can


emerge to create individual and organization states of flow, and moments of timelessness

(Mainemelis,C., 2001) that are conducive to creativity.

At the organizational level, supervisors can act as coaches to employees to increase their

perception of autonomy and freedom in selecting some tasks that are an “optimal

challenge” (Huy, Q., 2005, Mainemelis,C., 2001) and sensing that they are doing

meaningful work. These two factors can also elicit fun and playfulness within the

organization.

The last but not least element of the model proposed by Huy (Huy, Q., 2005) related to

the organizational process that can elicit employees’ feelings of attachment to their organization. These processes consolidate systematic collective actions that create and

enhance an employee’s personal identification with the organization (Dutton,J.E.,

Dukerich, J.E., & Harquai,C.V., 1994).

According to Huy (Huy, Q., 2005), examples of organizational actions that elicit

attachment and personal identification include those that (1) reinforce the organization’s

identity regarding socially desirable traits that enhance the employees’ external

recognition, (2) the demonstrate care regarding the long-term development and welfare

of its employees and their significant others, and (3) provide a design that is a good fit

between the employees’ work expectations and the supporting work environment.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Considering the expected diversity and complexity of the research setting and topic, I

decided to subscribe to the social constructivist perspective (Charmaz, K., 2006).

Constructing constructivism means seeking both respondents’ meanings and

researchers’ meanings. To find respondents’ meanings, we must go beyond surface

meanings and presumed meanings. We must look for views and values as well as acts


and facts. We need to look for beliefs and ideologies as well as situations and structures.

(Charmaz, K., 2006),

I am also aware that my interpretations of the studied phenomenon are itself a

construction (Charmaz, K., 2006), configuring a construction of meaning similar to that

created by the researcher’s themselves.

I have approached the investigation with the wider lens on the studied realities (Charmaz,

K., 2006), an open intellect, emphasizing diverse local worlds, multiple realities, and the

complexity of distinct worlds, views, and actions.

I aim to design the study group research interview following the concepts employed in the

socioanalytic interviewing method. The role of the interviewer includes managing the

boundaries of the task, time territory, and research/consulting ethics. There is a great

responsibility to create a thought-thought and a safe environment so that both interviewer

and interviewee can authentically enter the “contained” space (Long, S., 2013).

One of the core elements of the socioanalytic Interviewing methods focuses on enabling

the exploration of both conscious and unconscious organizational phenomena to expand

the understanding of the organization for both the interviewer and interviewee. (Long, S.,

2013)

By approaching the study from the start with an open intellect, holistic lens, and looking

at individual elements interacting to form the whole system and phenomenon, I have been

able to work from the socioanalytic perspective located at the conjunction of its systems

and psychoanalytic dimensions. These various individual elements interact to create an

inquiry space, different from, but informed by, both conceptual frames, supporting deep

inquiry about the meaning of phenomena in the organization. (Long, S., 2013)


The research methodology for analyzing the qualitative data was structured to follow the

general inductive approach (Thomas, D.R., 2006). The inductive method is a systematic

procedure for analyzing qualitative data, in which the analysis is likely to be guided by the

specific evaluation objectives. (Thomas, D.R., 2006).

Inductive analysis refers to approaches that primarily use detailed readings of raw data

to derive concepts, themes, or a model through interpretation made from raw data by an

evaluator or researcher (Thomas, D.R., 2006). It applies a bottom-up reasoning

approach, by identifying and analyzing patterns in raw data and observations, and by

developing a “unified theoretical explanation” (Corbin & Strauss, 2008), aligned with the

primary research objectives and research questions.

The inductive reasoning usually starts with observations, while hypothesis and theories

are only proposed at the end of the study as a result of the raw data analysis (Goddard,

W., & Melville, S., 2004). However, we can still leverage existing theoretical frameworks

to define the research question and use it as a reference point for exploration of new

meanings, inquiry about the interrelationship of core elements, and the development of

new hypotheses and theories in the research context.

Based on the initial literature review of selected emotion-based theories and the

development of the referential research framework, I prepared a set of twenty core open

questions that would serve as a reference base to be used during the planned semi-

structured interviews with top gastronomy Chefs. There was an additional set of thirty

backup questions defined in case the Chef opted for short answers, or we had extra time

to explore. A detailed list of reference questions is provided in Appendix 1.

All the open questions were designed to explore the different constructs of existing

theories, and motivate an open conversation and search for real stories that could expand

insights and meanings in connection with the research topic.


The primary purpose of the inductive approach is to allow research findings to emerge

from the common, dominant, or significant themes inherent in raw data, without the

restraints imposed by structured methodologies.

Aligned with the principles underlying the use of a general inductive approach (Thomas,

D.R., 2006), the data analysis was guided by the defined objective to explore the research

questions.

The raw data source utilized for analysis came primarily from the transcripts of the semi-

structured interviews and the audio content of selected video documentaries. Also, I

referred to research notes of my observations when experiencing gastronomic restaurant

food, services, and ambiance.

I had analyzed the development of central themes and categories from the raw data

gathered through the extensive reading of the transcripts and with the support of NVivo

Software for qualitative data analysis. A detailed Mind Map listing themes, categories,

and interrelations is provided in Appendix 3.

The process of inductive coding started with the preparation and cleaning of the raw data

into a standard format. It followed with the reading of the texts several times to get familiar

with themes and context. Categories or main themes were created and featured: category

label, description, examples of text coded into the category, and possible links or

relationships with other categories. The category system was subsequently integrated

into a proposed conceptual framework. (see page 39).

The categorization map and identification of common and predominant themes are

reported in more detail in the Data Gathering and Reporting session. It configured a core

reference to the present findings and arguments. Additional contextual information and

evidence were integrated on the session discussing the findings, proposed framework

model, hypothesis, and potential applications in other organizational environments.


DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH SETTING Subjects Selection, Access, and General information about Demographics and Locations The primary data source for this study consisted of fifteen, in-person, semi-structured

interviews with Michelin Star chefs (One, Two and Three Stars), that integrated the

Michelin Guide 2016, and is available on the Michelin website.

I did a pre-selection by target country or region location. I usually started the process

calling each restaurant individually, looking to make a reservation in synchronization with

planned business trip to that place, and requesting the chef’s contact information to invite

him to participate in the research. I followed-up with a formal email message encouraging

him(her) and providing additional information about the research context. It was rare to

speak directly with the chef on the phone, prior to the interview date, and in most of the

cases, several interactions with different people took place until the final confirmation of

interview. The average acceptance rate of invitation to participate in the study was

approximately 50%. Availability and lack of interest in the context were the main reason

for declining participation.

Aligned with the socio-analytic interviewing related to core concepts, method, and

process (Long, S., 2013), I opted to prioritize the schedule of in-person interviews with

the chefs at their restaurant location. I extended the period of organization observation,

beyond the planned chef’s meeting, by immersing in a full customer experience,

restaurant food, service, and ambiance, either before or after the interview and engaged

in a deeper connection and sensing of the smell of the place (Ghoshal, S., 2010). I found

that in-person meetings facilitated the rapport and mindfulness evident in the interview,

and enabled the creation and containment of a proper safe space, which both of us could

authentically share. I conducted all the interviews in English or Spanish.


By leveraging the opportunity of taking ten days’ vacation in Spain, there was a higher

concentration of interviews with Spanish chefs than initially planned. Six chefs, out of the

total fifteen Chefs interviewed were Spanish. However, there was a good level of diversity

of location, gender, age and Michelin Star ranking.

The list of chefs interviewed with general information is presented in Table 1.

Table 1 – General Information and Profile of Michelin Stars Chefs interviewed

As an additional and secondary source of data, I had utilized in this study a set of ten

selected episodes of the TV documentary series “Chef’s Table” created by David Gelb

released by Netflix (Gelb, D, 2015). The videos provided valuable emotion-based context

and enabled observation of chef’s leadership behavior in action, vision, and values

rounded by real and authentic stories that complemented the first and main primary data

work stream and generated new insights and support to explore my research questions.

Since the primary structure, main focus and context of the chefs’ individual interviews and

the group of TV documentaries were different, I decided to treat them as two separate

data work streams. I followed the general inductive approach (Thomas, D.R., 2006) and


applied the systematic procedure for analyzing qualitative data, into the primary data

source and identified the predominant emotional constructs and proposed a theoretical

framework that integrated the main findings. Finally, I reviewed the secondary data

source, of selected Netflix TV documentaries transcripts, through the lens of the proposed

model, and explored additional data source support into an expanded research setting to

validate, develop and integrate learning’s, aligned by the specific study evaluation

objectives.

Two of the chefs I had interviewed, Enrique Olvera and Dominique Crenn, had also

participated in the “Chefs Table“ TV documentary released by Netflix.

The list of selected Chefs featured in the Netflix Documentaries with general information

is presented in Table 2.

I have listed several quotes and narrative references provided by the chefs interviewed

in this study (primary data source) and the chefs profiled on the Netflix TV documentary

(secondary data source). Only the quotes from the Netflix TV documentaries had the

chefs' identity released, and the quotes from the interviewed chefs were kept confidential.

They are referred as Chef A, B,...N without any relationship or order with the detailed list

of chefs provided in Table 1 and appendix 4.


Business Dynamic and Trends of the Global Restaurant Industry

Marketline (2015) reports indicated that the global restaurant business had approximately

$ 2,737 billion in sales in 2014. Restaurants and cafes represented 44.3%, and quick

service restaurant & fast food represented 31.0% of total sales. Asia- Pacific, was the

largest region with 46.9% of sales followed by the United States with 25% and Europe

with 18.8%. The industry had employed more than sixty-five million individuals, being one

of the largest employers in every country. Marketing forecast also indicated that the

restaurant Industry will continue to grow at mid, single-digit and will reach $ 3,805 billion

by 2019, an increase of 39% comparing with 2014 sales. In the same period, they

forecasted that 70,624 thousand individuals would be employed in this industry globally.

The fine dining and Haute Cuisine sector have been considered and analyzed as

belonging to two distinct global industries, the restaurant business and luxury goods

industry. According to a BAIN & COMPANY (2015) report on luxury goods worldwide, the

overall global luxury market exceeded € 1 Trillion in 2015. The two sub-segments

connected with Fine Dining and Gastronomy, namely, luxury hospitality and fine food,

together represented 30% of the total global luxury market. Trends in Fine Dining (2011)

estimated that the upscale segment of the restaurant industry in U.S. represents

approximately 10% of total US restaurant sales and only 1% of total visits to restaurants.

It is a small sub-segment of the entire restaurant industry (Ban, V., 2012). However, they

are positioned at the forefront of new developments and ideas, influencing industry trends

and placed as the vanguard.

There are few organizations in the global market dedicated to evaluating and reviewing

gastronomic restaurants. The most recognized global organization is the Michelin Guide,

which was published in 1900 in France by the Michelin Tire Company. In Europe, the

Michelin Guide (sometimes called Guide Rouge) is the most important ranking system for

fine gastronomy and cuisine (Ottenbacher, M., & Harrington, R. J., 2007, Johnson et al.,

2005). The Michelin Guide is based on anonymous inspections and independence,


featuring a selection of the best hotels and restaurants in all comfort and price categories.

Regardless of the style of cuisine, Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants on five

criteria: the quality of products, mastering of flavors and cooking, the personality of the

cuisine, and value for money and consistency. One star is considered “a very good

restaurant in its category”, two stars reflect “excellent cooking, worth a detour”, while three

stars display “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey” (Michelin, 2006).

The guide has a strong influence on consumers’ choice of fine dining establishments.

Gaining or losing a Michelin star often results in enormous changes in business and

profits. The loss of a Michelin star can cut a restaurant’s sales by as much as 50 percent

(Ottenbacher, M., & Harrington, R. J., 2007, Johnson et al., 2005) and consequently lead

to the closure of the enterprise

Most recently the World’s Best 50 Restaurant Guide, published by the British Magazine

Restaurant has acquired a significant number of followers and became another important

global reference for quality and innovation, due to the process they follow for ranking and

recognizing the best restaurants in the world. The World's 50 Best Restaurants list

compiles the votes of the "World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy", a group of 27 panels

established to make the ranking, constituted by Chefs and restaurateurs, food writers and

well-travelled gourmets (Manifesto, 2016)

Selection of Research Setting and Personal Motivations

One of the elements that motivated me to select this particular research setting and study

group emerged from a reflection about a distant entrepreneurship experience I had in the

food industry many years ago. In 1993, I participated in a very intensive ten months

training program with McDonalds Brazil Corporation, as a candidate to franchise one of

their local restaurants.

My original project with McDonalds did not materialize due to a disagreement on the final

negotiation terms of the restaurant proposed for the franchise. However, the training


provided me a valuable experience to work and observe a very structured kitchen brigade

system operating and an efficient customer services model. Expanded and recent

literature review reminded me of watching group leaders acting in the restaurant

environment in many challenging situations, which required emotional intelligence,

transformational leadership behaviors, and the management of emotion-based

organization context. Thus I observed long ago how leadership practices could make or

break a successful operation. At that point, McDonalds Brazil had a high recognition for

its products and customer services, and it focused on the mid-upper classes. Its

restaurant's operations in Brazil were considered one of best-in-class worldwide. Though

I changed my professional goals and moved in the direction of developing a career as an

executive in the information technology industry, some of the lessons I learned and the

experiences I had during that period remain with me.

In parallel to my executive career development, my personal interest in gastronomic and

fine-dining continued to evolve over the following years. I attended a couple of formal

culinary programs, including a professional program at Institute Paul Bocuse, in Lyon-

France, during a sabbatical. I will never forget some initial customer experiences dining

in Michelin Star restaurants in France, tasting the quality of food, services, and ambiance.

I found myself asking: ‘How were they able to produce such a great customer

experience?’ and ‘What key leadership behaviors could be observed in the top chefs of

the world?’

My interest and curiosity about the gastronomic restaurant segment and fine dining, in

general, prompted me to learn about challenges of gastronomic chefs. These experiences

motivated me to select a group of successful and recognized chefs representing that

segment and configuring them as the study group for this research.

The few experiences that I had in the past, training and working in the similar environment

also help me to be comfortable and familiar with the research setting and facilitated the


understanding of the meaning and common language used by professional chefs when

describing their experiences during the interview process.

DATA GATHERING, REPORTING AND INTEGRATION OF FINDINGS Identification of Main Themes and Integration of Conceptual Models Miles and Huberman (M.B. Miles & Huberman, 1994) identified different ways of creating

labels. A researcher can either develop and use provisional “starter codes” before the

data collection or proceed without listing any pre-codes before the fieldwork.

In this study, I used a combination of both approaches, starting by listing general

categories that were derived from the initial and referential theoretical framework. And

also evaluating the aims that were explored during the interview process, followed by

identifying additional emerging themes, arising from multiple readings of the raw data,

sometimes referred as in vivo coding. (Thomas, D.R., 2006)

The analysis and identification of the predominant emotional constructs based on my

qualitative analysis of the raw data, field observations and the selection of Top Chefs

interview narratives suggesting the demonstration of these constructs and associated

behaviors in action. I started by listing forty categories labeled as emotion-based

constructs that were related to each of the domains integrated on the initial conceptual

reference model. I identified and selected twelve of them as predominant factors in the

research group, which consistently showed in at least 60% (9 out of the 15 Top Chefs

interviewed) of the leading research group.

In the following tables, I am listing the predominant emotional constructs identified in the

research group in each of the emotion-base domains, including a description, and an

interview sample. I had provided additional references for each of the identified constructs

in Appendix 2.


EMOTION-BASED DOMAIN A - EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ) CORE CAPABILITY (Bar-On, R.M. – 2006)

In this study, I had observed that in the research group many chefs had described

elements of both EQ Competencies and Transformational Leadership Behaviors,

suggesting the interrelation of both domains through a cause-and-effect relationship,

which impacted leadership effectiveness in their organizations.

The mediating role of transformational leadership adds to the theory of emotional

intelligence. These leaders may sense employees' reactions and be more apt to integrate

emotional consideration. Such an approach will lead them to intuitively show

transformational leadership behaviors, such as active listening, appreciating, and sharing


the internal experience of followers and generating enthusiasm, which would contribute

to positive organizational outcomes (Hur et Al., 2011).

In one of the Netflix documentary episodes, Chef Alex Atala, from Brazil, described a

case that suggested the co-existence of EQ capability in the areas of interpersonal

relationship, adaptability and flexibility to change with Transformational Leadership

Behaviors in the field of the Individuals Consideration for Achievement and Growth,

Innovation and Creativity, Enthusiasm and Optimism, and Meaning and Challenge.

I had integrated the conceptual framework and core propositions related to the emotion-base domain A, core EQ capability and the positive impact on transformational leadership behavior and leadership effectiveness in Figure 4.



EMOTION-BASED DOMAIN B - TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR (Bass, B.M., Avolio, B.J., Jung, D.I. & Berson, Y. – 2003)

In the literature review section, I had referred to a few recent studies, linking

transformation leadership behavior with leadership and team effectiveness. One of the

critical elements that impact the restaurant industry, particularly gastronomic restaurants,

relates to the reputation they can build and the recognition they can receive from

customers, restaurant critics, and peers. Instead of measuring success just through

financial parameters, success in the restaurant industry is predominantly based on the

external evaluations made by restaurant critics (Jessen, E., 2011). Reputation is

everything and a review from an acknowledged source can make or break a restaurant.


The reputation that recognized gastronomic restaurants were able to build, expand and

sustain is highly connected with their ability to operate with excellence and provide an

excellent customer experience.

The high level and constant evaluation that gastronomic restaurants are exposed to

increases the pressure to excel in their customer experience and operations’

performance. In this study, I could identify several transformation leadership behaviors in

action in which the chefs’ efforts to fulfill market expectation and sustain their

organizations’ excellence appeared to have a positive impact on leadership and team

effectiveness.

Among Netflix Chef’s Table TV documentary was Grant Achatz, the Chef-Owner of

Restaurant Alinea in Chicago, a three Stars Michelin recognized for his innovation and

creativity. He has also been named 15th on the list of The World 50 Best Restaurants

2016. Achatz explained that he has had to deal with many challenging situations in his

professional and personal life. His Netflix TV documentary, supported by additional public

stories, and his personal and team member’s narratives, suggested that he demonstrates

several of the emotional constructs identified in this study, and all the predominant

elements that integrated the Transformational Leadership domain.

El Celler de Can Roca Restaurant in Girona Spain, a three Stars Michelin run by the Chef-

owners Joan, Jordi, and Josep Roca, is one of the most celebrated gastronomic

restaurants in the world today and was recognized as number one in the World 50 Best

Restaurant of the World in 2015. The industry admires Joan Roca and his family


leadership, and several chefs in the research group referenced and offered narratives

and real stories about their experiences working with or at their restaurant, and some of

their working practices.

I integrated the conceptual framework and core propositions related to emotion-base

domain B, the transformational leadership behavior and the positive impact on leadership

effectiveness and team effectiveness in Figure 5.


EMOTION-BASED DOMAIN C - EMOTION ELICITING ACTIONS (Huy, Q.N. – 2005)

Several of my customer experiences in gastronomic restaurants, as part of this study,

were astonishing. I associated that experience with an impressive symphony played with

passion by a well-coordinated orchestra. I could feel the positive emotions in the

ambiance from the moment I walked in, and I continued to sense this during the whole

service experience. Each individual in the organization was actively connected and

focused with a single goal to provide an excellent customer experience. In a few of the

researched restaurants, I noticed an open kitchen that was visible to the customers. I


could observe a calm environment, with a great cadence, despite the enormous pressure

to operate with high efficiency. Like an orchestra, for which the timing and sequence are

critical elements of the musical experience itself, some of these restaurants had several

courses reaching the table one after another in perfect synchronization. They were an

authentic and natural form of expression and elegance. In some of the symphony

movements, you can indeed observe innovation and creativity in action, expressed with

elements of surprise that activate multiple senses—sight, smell, hearing, taste, and

touch—and eventually your palate memories. It can bring you back in time to connect you

with past memories, or perhaps transport you to an entirely different place of newly and

amazing experiences.

The chef, and particularly chef-owners who have a broader leadership role in these

restaurants, beyond just managing the kitchen, plays the critical role of “Maestro”, and

from his leadership position, he can define, enable, and manage the emotional context in

his organization. This study suggests that recognized best-in-class chefs achieve their

vision and goal during their service by not only their direct interaction, communication,

emotional expression and the leadership presence in the kitchen, but also through several

organization emotion-eliciting actions that occur before and after the performance acts.

Through these measures, they better prepare the players, both in the kitchen and in front

of the house serving their customers, to bring their commitment, passion, love, skills, and

soul, into the moment as movements of the symphony played by an excellent orchestra.

Tony Tan, who is one of the most respected Asian culinary teachers and chefs in Australia

referred to similar experiences in one of the episodes of Netflix TV documentary Chef’s

Table. His comments translate his feelings while dining at restaurant Attica in Melbourne,

Australia owned by New Zealand chef-owner Ben Shewry, who had been recognized for

several years as one of the best in World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.


I integrated the conceptual framework and core propositions related to the emotion-base

domain C, emotion-eliciting actions and positive impact on team effectiveness and

working environment in Figure 6.


Integrating Findings in a Conceptual Framework – Emotional Proficiency for Excellence

The gastronomic restaurant industry has to manage many challenges to providing

exceptional customer experiences. They need to innovate, adapt, and differentiate

themselves to be recognized a best-in-class in their segment but also operate with a high

level of consistency. There is a substantial identity of these restaurants connected with

their chefs and chef-owners, and their valuable individual contributions, particularly in the

area of creativity, innovation, and external image. However, the final day-to-day customer

experience outcome is delivered through a coordinated organization effort of several

individuals in the kitchen and the front of the house, facing many of these challenges in

real time. A chef’s leadership effectiveness capability is being tested all the time and relies

on leveraging and integrating his-her core emotional capabilities to respond to these

challenges. In customer-facing operations, the connection between the organization and

the customer is evident. The team effectiveness has a mutual cause-and-effect

relationship with the working environment, and both elements have a direct impact on

organization excellence, which integrates operational excellence and customer

experience.

The collective emotions ultimately measure the working environment showed by a team

in action, performing the variety of tasks that area aligned with their mission and purpose.


Individual emotions converge into group emotions through several mechanisms (Huy, Q.,

2005). First, employees who share a common organizational culture have similar

appraisals and ways of feeling (Schein, 2010). Second, a group translates tendencies

into collective expression more efficiently than individuals acting alone because group

membership boosts peoples’ feelings of power by making then feel bolder through

anonymity (Barsade & Gibson, 1998). Third, emotional contagion could be at work.

Individuals could unconsciously respond to other emotional displays by imitating and

exaggerating them. (Huy, Q., 2005).

The convergence of group emotions and the referred mechanism were observed in

several of the restaurants working environments. On several occasions, I had associated

these experiences with “The Smell of the Place” (Ghoshal, S., 2010), and the positive

feelings described by Prof. Ghoshal when he referred to his experience of walking in the

Fontainebleau forest during the spring as an analogy to organizations that are able to

create a working environment with elements of positive organization stretch, self-

discipline, mutual support and trust in contrast with the negative sensations he had during

a humid summer in Calcutta, India, and working environments based on elements of

constraint, compliance, control and individual contract.

This study suggests that the organization leaders in the research group, who were part

of organizations recognized as best-in-class in their Industry, demonstrate the

predominant emotional constructs identified in the three proposed emotion-based

domains. These constructs have a directly enhance the areas of leadership effectiveness,

team effectiveness and working environment, and ultimately help to create and sustain

organization excellence. In Figures 7 and 8, I present an integrated conceptual framework

and competency model of emotional proficiency for excellence.



FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Integration of Emotion-based Constructs into Leadership Archetypes

The application of a holistic lens into a multiple-theory framework can help to expand the

interpretation and meaning of leadership styles and behaviors by developing leadership

archetypes that integrate the findings and learnings.

Kets de Vries & Cheak (Kets de Vries, M. F., & Cheak, A., 2014) asserted that, from a

psychodynamic point of view, leadership archetypes represent different leadership styles

and different ways of behaving in the organizational environment. These behaviors, in

turn, are rooted in different personalities, inner drivers, and strengths.

As one of the results of this study, I propose three leadership archetypes that integrate

multiple and mixed elements from the three emotion-based domains considered, and that

express some of the lessons learned about the leadership behavior of the research group.

I referred them as (1) Passionate Nonconformist, (2) Determined Eagle Eye and (3) Trusted Coach. This study suggests that all these three elements contribute to

leadership effectiveness and drive organizational excellence.

In becoming aware of these different ways of being and behaving, leaders can better

understand their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of

others. This awareness can then be used to help them better influence their people,

through leveraging their strengths and managing weaknesses, and in doing so create

balanced, symbiotic and mutually-enhancing teams. (Kets de Vries, M. F., & Cheak, A.,

2014).


“The Passionate Nonconformist “ Leadership Archetype Several of the chefs that were part of this study described narratives that suggested a

high level of passion for their profession and elements of non-conformism, expressed a

strong desire and ambition to continue to do better in their work as chef or chef-owners.

Also, they sought to cope effectively with the continuous process of change and evolution

and to commit to their mission, purpose, and dreams, in such a way as to expanded the

levels of meaning and personal fulfillment.

All of the chefs interviewed started their professions long before the celebrity and media

status that we see attributed to chefs today. They came mostly from modest families and

showed a strong connection with their parents. Many cared for family members early in

life and strongly relate to their childhood memories. They see their experiences around

the art of cooking and appreciation of food as an element of their connection with the

people they love. Their passion for the cooking profession seems to be highly influenced

by these factors. Due to the hard work involved, long working hours and lower status of


the cooking profession, several of the chefs reported resistance from their families when

they started. Along with this, they experienced the difficulties presented in learning the

craft in more challenging working environments than we see today, but they managed to

face this adversity with resilience, early in their lives.

Nonconformist leaders are constantly looking to do better. They have a clear purpose and

continue to take their dreams to higher levels. I observed that most of the chefs in the

research group recognized the hard work they had put into their professions and

expressed gratitude for what they had accomplished in life. But they continued to be

ambitious and engaged in new ventures and projects. Some of them are starting to

struggle with the even higher demand for their personal time and are trying to balance it

to ensure that they stay present as a visible leader in their main restaurant operations.


The Passionate Nonconformist leadership archetype integrates the following emotion-

based constructs identified in this study: (1) Enthusiasm and Optimism (2) Innovation and Creativity, and (3) Flexibility.

(1) Enthusiasm and Optimism Passionate leaders can generate and maintain excitement and enthusiasm by appraising

how their followers feel, and they are knowledgeable about how to influence these

feelings. They must also be able to anticipate how followers will react to different

circumstances, events, and changes, and manage these reactions. Leaders need to

manage emotions such that followers are aware of problems yet, given the collective

vision, are confident about resolving problems and feel optimistic about the efficacy of

their personal contributions. (George, J. M., 2000)

Passion and nonconformism integrate enthusiasm and optimism with a clear vision and

purpose. They unleash intrinsic motivation to generate constructive action towards

achieving personal and organizational goals. The optimist believes in a positive outcome,

while the Passionate Nonconformist has a burning desire to drive the positive results.


(2) Innovation and Creativity

Passionate and Nonconformist leaders rely on innovation and creativity to drive

organizational excellence and leverage it as a tool to express their love and passion for

the art and craft of cooking and to achieve their ambitious goals. In an industry such as

that of gastronomic restaurants, which face a lot of competition and is always evaluated

by customers, peers and the media, being innovative and creative is essential.

It is interesting to note that in the world of gastronomy, we can observe over time, the

continuous transformation of older, classic or traditional methods along with a process of

“new beginnings” (Bridges, 1991). At the same time, that world has preserved critical

concepts, innovations, and elements of its previous systems. Escoffier (1993) innovated

and reformed classic French cuisine, when he first published La Guide Culinaire in 1907,

transforming and modernizing it into something new. Decades later a group of the

youngest and innovative chefs like Fernand Point, Pierre Troigros, Paul Bocuse, Michel

Guérard were pioneers to define, what was called “Nouvelle Cuisine”, which turned

Escoffier's approach into Cuisine Classique at that time. New innovative dishes and

methods emerged that focused on emphasizing natural flavors with the simplest

preparation that used reduced cooking periods and the freshest possible ingredients.

(Trubek, A. B., 2000, Pedersen, L. B.,2012).

Over the past decade, we have been watching a new generation of innovative chefs,

incorporating science, and new chemical and physical food transformations, into what is

called molecular gastronomy (Vega, C. & Ubbink, J., 2008). According to Adria et al.

(2006), this was “a turning point in the history of cooking [and probably food itself] that

has been widely misunderstood, both outside and inside our profession(s)’’.

These new and innovative food-processing techniques had been gradually incorporated

by many chefs and restaurants, and have been blended with more traditional and

classical methods, creating an exciting transformation of what customer continues to

recognize as “Haute Cuisine” or “superior cooking.” (Jessen, E., 2011. It exhibits a close


attention to details and a carefulness of preparation and presentation. As occurred in the

previous transformation, criticism emerged. It invites us to reflect on Escoffier’s (1907)

statement of more than one hundred years ago ‘‘In a word, cookery, whilst continuing to

be art, will become scientific and will have to submit its formulas which very often are still

too empirical, to a method which leaves nothing to chance.’’

All of the top gastronomy chefs that I interviewed for this study had incorporated at

different levels these new and vanguard techniques, including molecular gastronomy into

their cooking repertoire. Most recently these innovations have started to be referred to as

modernistic cuisine with a broader approach that focuses on utilizing technology in the

kitchen production process.

(3) Flexibility For an organization to create new ideas, be innovative and build a culture of continuous

improvement, it is critical for it, to learn how to adapt and change. The changes don’t

necessarily occur in a disruptive form and can be part of a gradual transformation or

transition process, built on the strengths of previous and sustainable achievements.

Passionate and Nonconformist leaders draw from the emotion-based construct of

flexibility with the ability to learn from mistakes, reframing challenging problems, adapting

to their course of action when needed, being able to let it go, and creating excitement for

the organizational renewal they are seeking to achieve.


“The Determined Eagle Eye” Leadership Archetype During many of the interviews, I conducted, exploring the emotion-based leadership

behaviors of gastronomic chefs, I had associated some of these chefs with the image of

a determined eagle flying over the forest. The forests, plains, and valleys were to our

ancestors what the urban neighborhoods are to us (Henderson, S. J., 1999).

I often observed the chefs’ facial expression and particularly their bright and opened eyes

when describing their thoughts and experiences for this study. On one occasion when I

was interviewing one of the top chefs in Spain, he was very emotional, expressing

gratitude with tears in his eyes. He was describing an episode early in his career when

a wealthy but humble man who continued to work as a shepherd trusted him and loaned

him money for a critical remodeling of his first restaurant. That man was supporting his

self-determination and dreams, in a moment in which the chef didn’t want to bother his

parents by asking for financial assistance. This first loan was fundamental to him getting

his first Michelin Star and opened a path that took him on a successful journey.

According to Jung (Jung, C. G., & Von Franz, M. L.,1968), there are powerful and ancient

archetypes of all forms embedded in our unconscious minds. Before biblical times, and

even today in aboriginal and native cultures, animals served and continued to serve as

guides and teachers for human beings (Henderson, S. J., 1999, Campbell, J., & Moyers,


B., 2011). The eagle was used by many ancient and contemporary societies as a symbol

of vision, courage, strength, wisdom, freedom, determination, swiftness, and precision.

Eagles have unusual eyes. They are gigantic in proportion to their heads and have large

pupils. Eagles’ eyes have five times more light-sensitive cells per square mm of the retina

than human’s. While people see just three primary colors, eagles see five. In fact, the

Eagles’ vision is among the sharpest of any animal and studies suggest that some eagles

can spot an animal the size of a rabbit up to two miles away. (Charity, O. A., n.d.).

Many of the narratives of the chefs I interviewed suggested that they can maintain a broad

view of their restaurant operation, sometimes even fly between the kitchen and the front

of the house, interacting with customers and promoting their restaurant image. However,

they are always leveraging their eagle eyes, with strong determination into every

operational detail, including restaurant décor, food, and services to drive their obsession

for perfection and fulfill their vision.

In a similar study Prof. Balazs did with French Michelin Chefs, she identified a similar

behavior: “This tendency to control the details extends to every single part of the

restaurant. A curtain that hangs wrong, a light bulb that doesn't work, a flower that is

wilted—nothing escapes their eyes. They constantly scan their emporium and always find

something to correct. Everything has to be flawless. In the kitchen, they seem to be

everywhere at the same time “ ( Balazs, K., 2001).

In the last forty-five years, many— studies had been developed supporting the theory of

self-determination (SDT). Ryan & Deci’s (Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L., 2000) studies

contributed to a growing understanding of the dominant role of intrinsic motivation to

explain human behavior, and the inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges

to extend and exercise one’s capacities to explore and learn. They proposed three

individual psychological needs involved in self-determination that contribute to their


psychological health and well-being—the needs for competence, autonomy, and

psychological relatedness.

Despite the recent celebrity status that many of the interviewed chefs and their peers

have achieved, they all started in their profession in a moment when that professional

status didn’t exist. This study suggests that the higher level of self-determination evident

in these chefs translated into day-to-day actions that touched the whole organization to

drive their excellence.

The “Determined Eagle Eye“ leadership archetype relies on the emotion-base constructs

of (1) Vision, (2) “Walk the Talk” and (3) Stress Tolerance.

(1) Vision

The effective “Determined Eagle Eye” leader leverage his or her vision as a frame of

reference to drive execution and align his or her organization. Intrinsic motivational factors

of the leader or the organization can influence the vision. Ideally, team members will

share that vision, which will guide many of their day-to-day individual actions. It also

communicates what matters the most to the leader, what he or she wants to accomplish

in life or business, and what kind of leader that person wants to be.

He or she may emphasize both instrumental and inspirational themes for their vision. Just

articulating an audacious vision may not energize followers to higher levels of effort and

performance. If a vision Is not grounded in some level of practicality, followers may view

it as unrealistic or wishful thinking. (Berson, Y., Shamir, B., Avolio, B. J., & Popper, M.,

2001). The “determined eagle eye” leaders align even the most resistant follower to

achieve their vision.

When you enter Chef Niki’s restaurant n/naka in Los Angeles, you will find written in their

small kitchen blackboard what looks like a clear vision for their organization:


The higher the degree of encouragement to instill hope among all organization members,

the higher the degree of collective mobilization there is likely to be (Huy, Q; 2005; Shamir,

House & Arthur – 1993). The collective mobilization driven from a well established and

clearly communicated vision enhances leadership effectiveness, team effectiveness, and

creates a positive working environment in organizations.

(2) “Walk the Talk”

The “Determined Eagle Eye” leaders are consistent with their ethics, principles, and

values, and they “walk their talk.” Their day-to-day actions configure an explicit expression

of what they believe and value the most and create an organizational identity that touches

multiple audiences. They leverage their “Eagle eyes” to drive the individual and group

alignment with these core elements, which generate a multiplying effect on their

organizations by developing and expanding authentic role models.


(3) Stress Tolerance

Stein & Book (2010) referred to stress tolerance as the ability to withstand adverse events

and stressful situation without developing physical or emotional symptoms by actively and

positively coping with stress. (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010) The restaurant business

operations, in general, provide an environment where many stressful situations can arise

all the time, to sustain the expected and target quality of customer experience.

The “Determined Eagle Eye” leaders rely on their self-determination and ability to look at

the details, preventing, anticipating or acting at a fast pace in response to day-to-day

challenges to cope with the level of stress. They can choose courses of action for dealing

with stress, they maintain an optimistic disposition toward new experiences and change

in general and support the feeling that they can control or influence the stressful situation,

by staying calm and maintaining control. (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010) They rely on the

precision and vision power of an “eagle eye” to see things objectively, the way they are,

rather than the way they wish or fear them to be.

“The Trusted Coach” Leadership Archetype When I was in Spain interviewing Chef “L”, who is one of the most respected chefs in the

world, I asked him how hard it was for him to achieve his personal goals. He didn’t find

that it was too hard referring to his mindset, to which he committed to consistent and


regular training for his “Carrera”. For him, the cooking profession is a “Carrera”, and there

is no “Carrera” without some sacrifice in life.

The word “Carrera” in Spanish has a double meaning of career and race, and, based on

other similar narratives, it suggests a race that doesn’t have an end line, and instead is

really about the journey of continuous self-development rather than an ultimate

destination.

The role of training and people development in this study group has been referred several

times and suggests a strong connection with the success these organizations have

achieved. There is a natural high rotation of employees in the industry. It requires the

constant training of new hires, not just to learn the craft, but most importantly the chef’s

philosophy and cooking style. Chefs shape their cooking style over time by the influence

of their training, experiences, and previous coaches and mentors, they work with during

their “Carreras”.

It looks like a school to many people. The chef plays a fundamental role as the coach and

mentor of his team. The chef and his(her) most senior leaders play that role, relying on

the trust and respect they built in their careers, but also on their leadership style, based

on solid cooking craft knowledge, hands-on practice, and being present in the kitchen.

They coach by showing and create the proper challenging environment that supports

people’s development in their profession. They all reported proudly of individuals who had

come to their schools, learned, contributed, and left after a couple of years to pursue their

dreams, and now had also become recognized professionals in their owned restaurants.


In the study, I observed that Chefs act as coaches out of necessity for their own business, but they also do it out of the love they have for teaching and their desire to give back to others. It is also a form of gratitude to the coaches and mentors that helped them to be who they are and what they became.

The “Trusted Coach” archetype leader relies on the emotion-base constructs of (1) Interpersonal Relationship, (2) Meaningful Work, and (3) Individual Consideration for Achieving Goals.

(1) Interpersonal Relationship

It is critical for any coach and mentor to have the ability to establish and maintain mutually

satisfying relationships, characterized by the ability to both “give” and “take,” and their

trust and compassion are openly expressed in their words or by their behavior. Positive

interpersonal relationship skills are characterized by sensitivity towards others (Stein, S.

J., & Book, H., 2010).

Several Chefs reported to seeing themselves as mentors and coaches to their team. They

sought to create an open and sharing environment where individuals could express

themselves, collaborate, and learn from each other. The respect and trust these Chefs

gain from their teams are fundamental elements to eliciting emotions of hope, attachment,

and fun.


(2) Meaningful work

There were three predominant narrative contexts described by several Chefs in the

research group. First, it was the respect they all have for the product they work, the

importance and sometimes the challenge to maintain its quality, integrity and enhance

their value in front of the customers in a final dish. One of the Chefs referred making the

fish “the star” of the plate, and ensure that all the remaining ingredients must elevate the

quality of the fish. Another Chef referred to his mindset of having the same respect for a

vegetable, such as a scallion or a leek, that he(she) has for a lobster or special cut of

meat. Second, several Chefs try to communicate with their customers through a menu

that not only tells them a story based on some of their past and personal experiences, but

also looks to trigger emotions and sensations that will connect with their customer

memories. Third, there was a group that was taking their vision, passion and role as a

Chef to an expanded and inspiring level of meaning. Chef Dan Barber is a staunch

supporter of the Farm to Table movement in North America, and several Chefs are

engaged in socially responsible practices to create a better future for the planet. In all

cases, the “Trusted Coach” leaders demonstrated their ability to infuse their employees’

day-to-day activities and their new knowledge with a clear sense of meaning and

challenge.


When I interviewed Chef Enrique Olvera, Chef-owner of Restaurant Pujol in Mexico, and

Cosme in New York City, he commented about his vision and sense of meaningful work,

and the emotional context he wants to create in his restaurants.

(3) Individual Consideration for Achieving Goals

A ‘‘mentor’’ is a formal or informal title/role that one takes on to support the career

development of a protégé, whereas ‘‘transformational leader’’ is a title/position that

involves a (dyadic) developmental connection between individuals. Both mentoring and

transformational leadership are developmental in nature because they promote the

learning and growth of others through the provision/display of various degrees of

functions or behaviors. (Sosik, J. J. et al., 2004).

Many individuals join the restaurants researched in this study with the objective to learn.

The “Trusted Coach” archetype leaders pay personal attention to their team members

and can create a learning environment, whereas mentoring occurs at different levels of

skill development, but also includes behavior and style. Typically, there are high-

performance expectations in place at all of the restaurants researched, and a continuous

and immediate feedback occurs in day-to-day actions, through the close supervision of

mentors and coaches.


LIMITATIONS Despite the fact that the selected Chefs were part of an elite of leaders in their segment,

recognized by industry analysts and their peers for their ability to provide exceptional

customer experiences, I did not explore other factors that relate to organizational

excellence, i.e., sustainable growth and profitability. It is well known that many

gastronomic restaurants face challenges regarding becoming profitable or breaking even.

Some Chef-owners complement their income by publishing books, doing consulting and

leveraging their image and brand into marketing campaigns and TV shows.

The subjects of this study included a real diversity of Chefs selected from different parts

of the world. However, since I looked to select Chefs who align with my availability to

travel to their regions, the research group distribution doesn’t reflect the real distribution

of Michelin Star Chefs by country. In short, there was a higher concentration of Spanish


Chefs and three Chef-women, and an under-representation of French Chefs and other

important regions in the study.

I spent additional time in all restaurants beyond the interview time with the Chefs,

observing the environment and employees in action. However, for this study, I did not

conduct any formal interviews with other organization members to probe or cross-check

some of the narratives described by the selected Chefs. Few Chefs requested a copy of

the questions in advance and were able to be prepared for the interview. I worked from a

socioanalytic perspective and interview method. However, social desirability bias, which

can be identified in self-reporting methods, can also show up in qualitative interviews such

as those used in this study.

There were several references to my analysis of the secondary data source of Netflix TV

documentaries, which were indeed edited by the producers. Two of the Chefs who I

interviewed and who were also part of the TV documentary series reported that the Netflix

interview was very natural and realistic and I assumed that similar dynamics applied to

the remaining eight Chefs, which were part of the secondary data source.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

This study can extend into multiple areas of interest. For example, it could examine the

gastronomy restaurant industry itself in a broader sense, expanding the study to a larger

population of recognized gastronomic Chefs and leaders with a more diverse

representation from multiples countries, following the qualitative or inductive approach.

The study can be adjusted to be a quantitative research, including input from other

individual organization members. It could be focused on the validation of the suggested

predominant emotion-base construct identified in this study, or look at exploring an

expanded view of the main elements integrated into the three core emotion-base

leadership theories described in this study.


The proposed “Emotional Proficiency for Excellence” competency model and leadership

archetypes can be leveraged as a reference instrument to research other organizations

in different industries that are exposed to similar business challenges.

The competencies and leadership archetype models could be used to analyze large

populations and configured as a reliable instrument, capable of being applied broadly to

an organization’s leadership development and executive coaching process.

CONCLUSION

In the last decades, organizations in different segments and of varied sizes were exposed

to an increased and challenging dynamic of change. This environment has required

strong leadership to adapt, innovate, and operate with excellence and at a pace never

seen before, while providing exceptional customer experiences.

Reflecting on my experiences as an information technology executive for many years, I

have observed or have been an active participant in these new and evolving global

business settings. I have watched with increased curiosity as senior executive leaders

work to initiate—sometimes successfully and other times not—divisional and corporate

strategy changes, growth, transformation and operation efficiency initiatives, including

corporate M&As and spinoffs.

Understanding the role of emotion-base leadership behaviors is critical for leaders if they

are to cope with these emerging business dynamics, drive the required organization

alignment with their vision, anticipate and respond to their new challenges, and enable

their passion for being translated into effective organizational actions.

In times of disruptive change, managers have to be aware of their work and social context

to apply specific emotion management of their employees, and better define how and

when to implement them. (Huy, Q., 2005)

By attending to the individual and collective emotions in an organization, and

understanding employees’ personal contexts (Huy, Q., 2005, Hochschild, 2003), leaders


can foster an emotional, organizational context that is capable of driving strategic and

radical change.

In this study, I aimed to contribute to the research on leadership behavior with a focus on

investigating the powerful emotional proficiency constructs identified in successful

organizations.

The gastronomic restaurant industry shares many of the challenges that large

corporations and small & medium business have to face daily. Along with the celebrity

status and interest that Chefs have gained in the media in the recent years, this industry

serves as an attractive organization set for additional and expanded academic studies.

By researching the emotion-based leadership behaviors of best-in-class gastronomic

Chefs, I could identify evidence suggesting that the co-existence of several constructs of

the three theories integrated into the initial conceptual framework. Twelve predominant

core elements were selected. The integration of these factors into a competency model

and the development of three leadership archetypes served to bring to light some of the

insights discovered through my experience of studying and meeting these organization

leaders recognized for their excellence.

These great organizations rely on the leadership of passionate, nonconformist and

determined “Chef” leaders that leverage their “eagle eyes” to support their obsession for

detail and perfection. They anticipate events, provide clear direction and drive their vision,

facing adversities and setbacks with resilience. They can create a multiplier effect and

culture alignment through their role as a mentor and coach for the individuals that take

part in their “schools” and are open to learning. These leaders show flexibility to change,

a good level of stress tolerance, self-awareness, and skills in developing healthy

relationships with others. They “Walk the Talk,” creating optimism and enthusiasm in their

organization while contributing to various individuals’ need for achievement and growth,

and stimulating their students to be innovative and creative.


They create a working environment of open communication, and, by developing their

“school” brand, they foster enhanced market recognition and valuable organization

identity that elicit a proud and active sense of belonging. The vision that these leaders

outline for their organizations is compelling, inspiring, and elicit hope of an even more

positive future.

The elements identified and integrated into this study are orchestrated by “Chef” leaders,

who drive their teams’ effectiveness and a positive working environment translated into

organization excellence and best-in-class customer experiences.


APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1 – Semi-structured Interview (Reference Questionnaire)

PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: Who are you? Why Chef? What

differentiates you among other Chefs?

MOTIVATIONAL BACKGROUND DISCOVERY: What had inspired you to become a

professional Chef? What differentiates you? Who had been your mentors? What is your

vision for the culinary Industry? What are your dreams and aspirations as a Chef? What

are your perceptions about your organization working environment? Tell me about your

team?

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (Bar-On, R. M., 2006)

Intrapersonal (Self-awareness and self-expression) Self-Regard: To accurately perceive, understand and accept oneself – What do

you consider to be your greatest strengths and weakness? How had these things help

you or hurt you in the past? (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010).

Emotional Self-Awareness: To be aware of and understand one’s emotions – Anger,

Happiness, Fear, Anxiety, Sadness. Please describe a recent situation that elicited one

or more of these feelings. How did it affect your performance and-or impact others at

work? What circumstances trigger these feelings, and any body sensations. (Stein, S. J.,

& Book, H., 2010).

Assertiveness: To effectively and constructively express one’s emotions and oneself - Can you describe a difficult performance discussion that you had with a team

member? How did you feel about it? (Lynn, AB. ,2008)


Independence: To be self-reliant and free of emotional dependency on others - Can

you describe a situation where you turned to someone else to help you to make a

decision? How did you use their input? (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010)

Self-Actualization: To strive to achieve personal goals and actualize one’s potential – How many hours per week do you spend at work? With family? Friends?

Alone? What are the short-term goals (two-six months) in each of these areas? What

actions will help to achieve these goals? (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010). Interpersonal (Social awareness and interpersonal relationship) Empathy: To be aware of and understand how others feel (Respectful Listening) – Can you describe a situation when you didn’t know why someone was acting a certain

way or taking a particularly position on some issue. What did you do? Can you tell about

a time when you learned something by listening to an employee? (Feeling the Impact on Others) – Can you describe a situation when a change you were

implementing caused stress for your staff. How did you know it? What did you do? (Lynn,

AB. ,2008)

Social Responsibility: To identify with one’s social group and cooperate with others – What community organizations are you involved? What have you done recently

to help people who could use a hand? (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010).

Interpersonal Relationship: To establish mutually satisfying relationships and relate well with others (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010).

(Building Relationships) – Can you tell me about some people whom you have to work

with on a regular basis, that you find difficult to get along? What have you done to build a

stronger relationship with these people? (Lynn, AB. ,2008)


(Collaboration)- Have you ever implemented an idea or solved a problem and had your

solution meet with resistance? What do you think you could have done to avoid that

resistance? Tell me how you recently solved a work problem. What process did you use?

(Lynn, AB. ,2008)

Stress Management (Emotional management and regulation)

Stress Tolerance: To effectively and constructively manage emotions – Think about

recent stressful accidents or situations. What (if any) do you consider areas of

vulnerability to stress? How do you deal with that stress? (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010).

Impulse Control: To effectively and constructively control emotions – Which (if any)

of the following statements apply to you? (1) I tend to leap before I look, (2) I become

impatient easily (3) Other seem too slow in making up their minds (4) I often regret not

giving more thought to decisions, (5) I often make impulse purchases (6) Other tell me

that I tend to be hot headed? (Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010).

Adaptability (Change Management) Reality-Testing: To objectively validate one’s feelings and thinking with external reality – Can you describe episodes which you either had overlook difficulties and

minimized problems or use rose-colored glasses? How do you cope with reality testing?

(Stein, S. J., & Book, H., 2010).

Flexibility: To adapt and adjust one’s feelings and to think about new situations - Can you tell me about a difficult situation when you were flexible and accommodated the

needs of someone on your staff. How did you feel about that? Were there any behaviors

that you had to abandon that worked for you in a previous role, that didn’t work in a new

role? How did you know these behaviors didn’t or wouldn’t work in the new role? (Lynn,

AB. ,2008)


Problem-Solving: To effectively solve problems of a personal and interpersonal nature – Can you describe a recent problem you had experienced (technical or

interpersonal difficulty) and how you attempted to solve that problem? (Stein, S. J., &

Book, H., 2010).

General Mood (Self-motivation)

Optimism: To be positive and look at the brighter side of life – Can you describe a

time when you were more optimistic than others about a particular project. What did you

do?

Happiness: To feel content with oneself, others and life in general – How do you

have fun at work, at home, socially and recreationally?

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP (Burns, 1978; Bass, B. M., 1990; Bass, B. M., &

Avolio, B. J., 1993)

Leading Change: Can you tell me an episode of a significant change that you had led

recently? How effective was its implementation? What did you learn?

Idealized Influence: Leader admiration, respect and trust – How do you win respect,

and confidence from your teams? What are some of your personality traits that you

observe being followed/shared by your team?

Idealized Influence: Consider Followers needs – How you respond to your team

needs? How do you balance it with your own personal and business needs?

Idealized Influence: Consistency with ethics, principles and values – What is your

vision for the organization and the values you stand for? How you communicate it and

reinforce it to your team?


Inspirational Motivation: Meaning and Challenge – What is the purpose/meaning and

challenges to work in your organization.

Inspirational Motivation: Enthusiasm and Optimism – How Enthusiasm and Optimism

are promoted and displayed in your organization? What is attractive for a talent individual

to be part of your team?

Intellectual stimulation: Innovation and Creativity - How your team contributes to

innovation/creativity? How do you deal with mistakes/errors?

Intellectual stimulation: Reframing – Can you describe a situation which your team

worked on a problem and was able to find a solution approaching an old situation in a

new way? How did that work?

Individual consideration: Individual needs for Achievement and Growth – What are

some of your team members needs for achievement and growth? How are you helping

then?

Individual consideration: People Development – What are the learning and

development opportunities available for individuals in your organizations? How do you

manage that?

High-performance Expectations: How do you set expectations, manage and reward

performance in your organization?

BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE EMOTIONAL CONTEXT AND PROCESS (Huy, Q, 2005) Elicit Actions to express Authenticity: Leader expression – How your words, tone,

and facial expression communicate the authenticity of your emotions?


Elicit Actions to express Authenticity: Open Communication – How people

communicate and express emotions to each other, voice thoughts, ideas, and feedback? Elicit Actions of Hope: Resilience - How yourself and your organization deal with

adversity and-or occasional setback? Elicit Actions of Hope: Vision – What is your vision for your organization? How does it

connect with a Positive Future? Elicit Actions of Hope: Celebrate Success – How your organization recognizes and

celebrate success? Elicit Actions of Fun: Feedback - How the organization provides feedback on

established goals or tasks? Elicit Actions of Fun: Balanced challenges – How do you balance individual skill level

with the proper challenge of individual challenges? Elicit Actions of Fun: Meaning and Purpose – How organization members perceive

they do meaningful work? Elicit Actions of Fun: Sharing – How the organization share ideas among team

members? Elicit Actions of Sympathy: Listening – How/When you and your team leaders Listen

to any concerns team members feel uncomfortable to voice publically? Elicit Actions of Sympathy: Care with welfare – How you and your team leaders

demonstrate concern with team member’s welfare?


Elicit Actions of Sympathy: Awareness and understand of others feelings – How

you and your organization leaders deal with the feelings and thoughts of organization

members? Elicit Actions of Attachment: Love – What are the things that organization members

love about your organization? Elicit Actions of Attachment: Proud of belonging – How do you promote team

members to feel proud to belong to your organization, external recognition & self-steam? Elicit Actions of Attachment: Recognition – How do you recognize achievement and

contributions of key members of your organization?


APPENDIX 2 - Expanded List of Selected Interview Narratives Predominant Emotion-based Constructs







APPENDIX 3 - Inductive Analysis - Map of Themes and Categories

Figure 10 – NVIVO Mind Map of Themes and Categories (Domain A)


Figure 11 – NVIVO Mind Map of Themes and Categories (Domain B)


Figure 12 – NVIVO Mind Map of Themes and Categories (Domain C)


Figure 13 – NVIVO Mind Map of Themes and Categories


Figure 14 – NVIVO Mind Map Integration of Findings


APPENDIX 4 - Research Study Group List of Chefs Interviewed (Primary Data Source)

Photos provided by each of the Chefs or retrieved from the web sites for the Chefs’

restaurant. Please refer to the Bibliography for details.


List of Selected Chefs Featured on Netflix TV Documentary “Chefs Table” (Secondary Data Source)

Photos retrieved from the web sites for the Chefs’ restaurant. Please refer to the

Bibliography for details.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to recognize several people for the inspiration, contributions and support provided

to me during the research and writing of my EMCCC Master Thesis.

First, Elizabeth Florent-Tracey, my CCC Thesis supervisor, for her valuable guidance and

inputs, particularly to narrowing the focus of selected research topic, the Thesis review

meetings, and providing me useful Thesis Tutorials that guided me during the whole

research process.

Second, I want to thank Professor Quy Huy, for his passion, inspiration, and enthusiasm,

about his research work for many years on emotional capability and the benefits of

building and managing the emotional context in organizations. He provided me valuable

support during the initial phases of this study. I had cited both, Prof. Quy Huy and Prof.

Howard J. Stein in this paper. Their research work and their participation in one of the

CCC modules inspired me and fueled my curiosity about the research topic.

Third, I want to thank Prof. Roger Lehman and Prof. Erik Vandeloo, and the CCC cohort,

for the fantastic experience and journey orchestrated and shared during CCC wave 19

programs. The learning’s, reflections and memories will stay with me forever.

Fourth, I want also to recognize and thank all the Chefs that were very generous to me

with their time and attention to contributing to my research, sharing their values,

experiences, personal stories, and passion for cooking, that I also share for a long time.

It was an enjoyable journey for me to spend time with these Top Chefs in their

Restaurants.

Last, but not least, my appreciation and gratitude to my family, particularly my wife

Monica, for her support, during the CCC journey, and sometimes tolerance. She was my

partner and joining me in some of the research experiences.


Figure 15 – Miguel M. Noguerol Self-Portrait, 1st DAY – EMCCC16S - Feb, 2015

Documents

Emotional Proficiency for Excellence - INSEADflora.insead.edu/fichiersti_wp/InseadEMCCCtheseswave19/84340.pdfEmotional Proficiency for Excellence Learning from the Great Chefs of the