Jalloul Montacer on managing people (and teaching kids)

Back in 1997, I was managing a McDonald’s restaurant in Hartford while attending Trinity College and the University of Saint Joseph. The manager who hired me, a man named Fred, sadly passed away unexpectedly, and a week later, our new general manager, Jalloul Montacer, arrived.

I wasn’t so sure about Jalloul at first. He was tough, stoic, and no-nonsense. I remember meeting him across the counter and thinking he wasn’t going to be a nice man.

I wasn’t sure that he and I would get along well.

I was terribly mistaken.

Jalloul turned out to be an extraordinary manager, a good friend, and an even better teacher.

I had been managing restaurants for nearly a decade at that point with great success. Named Manager of the Year twice in my region. Two time winner of the Fastest Grill in Massachusetts competition. I could balance payroll, manage the P&L, and still cook eggs and run the drive thru faster than anyone else.

This made me valuable enough to be able to dictate my schedule, which is what allowed me to work a full time job while also working full time on a degree in English from Trinity College and a degree in elementary education from the University of Saint Joseph.

I thought I knew everything, but Jalloul taught me so much more.

The most important lesson that Jalloul taught me was this:

You are only as good as the people who work for you. If they want you to succeed, you will succeed. So say hello to every employee when they arrive at work. Say goodbye every time you or one of your people leaves for home. Thank every person, every day, for their hard work. Shake every hand. Make them feel important and valued. Ask your employees how they are doing. If they need a ride to work, pick them up. If they’re hungry, send them home with food. Ask them how their job can be made easier. Ask them how the restaurant can be run better. Make their work day as fun as humanly possible. Find ways to make them want to return to work tomorrow.

My job was not to serve customers. My job as manager was to support my staff so that they can serve my customers well.

Jalloul taught me that the best managers stand in the shadows behind their staff, helping their people shine.

It transformed me as a manager. In less than six months, I had the best attendance rate in my restaurant. My shifts ran smoothly and profitably. My days became easier. My job became a lot more enjoyable.

Before I met Jalloul, I worked like hell every day, filling in gaps, jumping into the fray, and using my energy and experience to get through the day.

After I met Jalloul, I focused more of my energies on my people. I supported and trained and cared about each and every one. That turns out to be much easier and far more satisfying than flipping burgers faster than anyone else.

Oddly enough, Jalloul’s lessons on restaurant management have also been the secret to my success in teaching.

I’m not the best designer of lessons.

I’m not the best deliverer of instruction.

There are teachers far better than me at finding ways to teach a concept to a struggling student.

The thing I do well is adhere to Jalloul’s advice:

Build exceptionally strong relationships with students.

Say hello to every student when they arrive to school. Say goodbye every time you or one of your students leave for home. Thank every student, every day, for their hard work. Make them feel important and valued. Ask them how they are doing. Ask them how I could make their days better. Ask them how the school day could be run better.

Make their school day as fun as humanly possible. Find ways to make them want to return to school tomorrow.

I’ve often said that the best training I’ve every received for the classroom was the decade I spent managing McDonald’s restaurants. I learned how to motivate, delegate, prioritize and problem solve. I learned to manage an endless number of ever-changing personalities. I became flexible in my thinking and optimistic in the face of overwhelming odds.

Those years spent managing restaurants were more valuable to me as an educator than all the classes I took in college combined.

But I learned more in the two years spent working with Jalloul Montacer than any other.

Back in 2006, I was named West Hartford’s Teacher of the Year and was one of three finalist for Connecticut’s Teacher of the Year. During the speech I gave on the night I won and later at our school district’s commencement, I thanked a host of people who had been instrumental in my teaching career, but I didn’t thank Jalloul.

I didn’t even think of thanking Jalloul.

That was a mistake.

Today Jalloul is Director of Operations at McDonald’s USA, though he may be retired. I haven’t spoken to him in years, and he hasn’t been active on LinkedIn in a while. He may have hung up his spatula and finally kicked up his feet.

All of this annoys me, because when you recognize how instrumental someone has been to your life, you want them to know it. You want them to know that the impact of their teaching has extended far beyond anything they could have imagined.

You want to thank them for changing your life forever.

I’ve set up a Google Alert on Jalloul’s name, and I’ve added reminders to my Google calendar to check social media every few months to see if I can find him somewhere.

Maybe he has a Google Alert set up on his own name. If so, maybe he’ll see this post and reach out.

I hope so. I really do. I have a lot of things to say to him, and every single one of them is good.