His
management style has been the subject of much debate during ITV 1’s Hell’s
Kitchen, which ended on Sunday night. But despite all the shouting and
swearing, could he in fact be a role model for the manager of today?
By
Owen Warnock, employment law partner at Eversheds
Some
aspects of Gordon Ramsay’s management style are legally pretty risky. There
would certainly be issues in most workplaces if a manager used his bullying
tactics to get the most out of
employees. Swearing at staff and reducing them to tears would definitely
put him on the wrong side of employment law.
However,
it is not all bad. Ramsay’s clear, direct approach is certainly honest and
open. His ‘employees’ in Hell’s Kitchen always knew what they had done wrong
and how he wanted them to rectify a situation – something that many managers
shy away from, leaving staff in the dark about their areas of weakness.
The
other area where he scores highly is in the praise he awarded when they did
well. While he was never shy to criticise, he was generous in rewarding
success, which proved to be highly motivating for his celebrity chefs.
While
Ramsay’s extreme style of management may not be appropriate in most workplaces,
there are elements we could learn from. He created a highly-motivated workforce
– something that many managers struggle to achieve.
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