1. Hang out with people who get it
Spending time with individuals who have lived the struggle can help recalibrate operators. For Debbi Beauvais, that means staying in touch with the nation’s foodservice leaders. “Talking with others about their challenges within the profession and hearing how they are working through them is a great way to find ideas and strategies that may be effective in working within your own programs,” says Beauvais, the school nutrition director at Gates Chili, East Rochester and East Irondequoit schools in New York. She recommends that her peers broaden their definition of “team” to encompass partners within the industry at large.
Vincelli seeks out the company of books when she’s feeling a bit drained. Reading “The Confidence Code” by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay led her to realize that everyone has something to work on. “It was really helpful for me to see all these really powerful women struggle with some of the things that I struggle with,” she says.