What turns your best operators into your worst managers?
This piece was originally shared on LinkedIn in response to recurring conversations with founders and leadership teams around this topic.
I’m publishing it here as part of an ongoing body of thinking around restaurant strategy, market entry, and operational decision-making.
Someone is great on the pass and respected by the team. The conversation turns to what’s next, and they assume management is the only way up.
Doing the job and managing people doing it are completely different. Management means doing things they’ve never done before. Being a tough boss, disciplining people, and having difficult conversations. Or the opposite: stepping back when every instinct says jump in and fix it.
When someone asks me about progression, my first question is always: why?
A lot of the time, they’re looking for more recognition or more money. You can solve that without changing their role.
I’ve seen graphic designers become Design Directors with an elevated title and a pay rise, and they’re still spending time doing what they’re brilliant at. They’re recognised for being incredibly talented, without having to manage anyone or step away from their craft.
If they genuinely want to lead, back them properly. External training, coaches, mentors, buddies. A clear path for what they need to learn and what good looks like.
But be transparent about what management actually involves. They might realise it’s not for them, and that’s fine. Putting people into management roles without these conversations creates micromanaging bosses, unhappy colleagues, and people who quietly miss their old job.
The clearer these conversations are early on, the easier career planning becomes for everyone.
Since first sharing this, I’ve seen the same issue surface repeatedly — particularly with businesses entering new markets or scaling too quickly. The underlying challenge is rarely strategy itself, but how early decisions constrain execution later.
Andrew Jobes is the founder of Jobes & Co., a Dubai-based advisory working with restaurant and hospitality businesses across the Middle East and international markets.