The Small Mercies of December (Every GM Knows Them)
At this point in December, hospitality finds its own rhythm… quick, a little chaotic, and hopefully fun.
The days blur and the energy rises before you even unlock the doors. And everyone who is hands on in restaurants and bars is balancing a dozen moving parts with a kind of determination that only this industry really understands.
I remember an Operations Director asking me years ago, ‘What can I do to help?’
My reply was polite but honest… ‘Leave me to it.’
And they did. No hovering and no unnecessary pressure. It was exactly the support I needed at the time, and it stayed with me.
When I think back to my own years leading through Christmas, the things that stand out aren’t so much the frustrations… they’re the moments of support that allowed me to lead well.
The small things that softened the edges and helped me breathe a little more easily in the middle of our busiest weeks.
These were the things that support teams and head office did that genuinely made December easier:
Clear, simple communication that respected the season… the essential information and nothing more.
One place for updates, so I wasn’t digging through emails while trying to support my team and grow sales.
Support visits where people arrived ready to help rather than observe… a few plates run, a bit of glassware polished, a check-in that felt genuine. Sometimes the simple ‘What can I do to help?’ is all we need.
Small operational tasks quietly picked up by someone else… sign-offs, supplier calls when deliveries failed, the background noise that steals your headspace without you noticing.
Check-ins and congratulatory messages on sales that didn’t need a reply… a gentle reminder that someone was thinking of us in the middle of the chaos.
Expectations that reflected the reality of December… an understanding that this month is about steadiness. Leave perfection at the door; things will go wrong.
Thoughtful gestures that landed at exactly the right moment… a cup of tea, chocolates for the team, a taxi home for someone finishing at an impossible hour.
Permission to prioritise people over paperwork… trusting me to decide what could wait until the quiet days between Christmas and New Year, and what genuinely needed attention.
Appreciation for the team… nothing elaborate, just genuine acknowledgement of how hard everyone was working. A smile and a hug go a long way.
A hand written Christmas card, with a personal message for each team member. Something I learned while working at Corney & Barrow and carried through to every business I ran after that.
Those were the moments that held me. They reminded me that while December asks a lot from hospitality, I didn’t have to carry it by myself.
Support is the simplest, most intentional acts often make the heaviest month feel a little lighter.
