Cooking Up a Leadership Role
Daniel Levie's passion is cooking and has been since he was young. A sous chef at UC Berkeley's Cafe 3 dining hall, Levie not only pushes himself to further his own culinary adventures but also encourages his fellow staff to excel. With an eye toward becoming an executive chef at Cal, Levie credits the Certificate Program in Leadership and Management with giving him the tools to be an inspiring manager.
You're working full time while taking courses. Are you able to introduce concepts learned in class to the kitchen?
I always return to my unit and share what I have learned. During my last class, I created a leadership plan and collaborated with the other managers to implement it for our unit. Each week, I meet with one of my team members, and we review their performance together. We also identify the most effective practices in the kitchen, as well as ones that can be improved upon. This process encourages ownership and creates an avenue for constructive feedback. I'm also currently enrolled in Talent Management and Workforce Development. For my final paper, I'm exploring Cal's talent management process and developing a strategy on how to build upon our current success. I want to contribute to our organizational goals through my passion for training and developing staff. My goal is to support my team by empowering them to maximize their careers.
Every week, I look forward to engaging with middle- to high-level managers from Oracle, Pandora, Kaiser Permanente, tech startups and other innovative companies.
You're in classes with other managers and leaders. What do you learn from discussions with them?
Every week, I look forward to engaging with middle- to high-level managers from Oracle, Pandora, Kaiser Permanente, tech startups and other innovative companies from San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. It's very powerful to engage with people in different fields; hear about their experiences, good and bad; learn from their mistakes and successes, and apply them to my kitchen.
You're midway through the curriculum. What will it mean to you to finish?
It's an amazing part of my growing process. As I take on more responsibility at Cal, this certificate program gives me the structure and tools to be a better leader, maximize staff potential and create added value for the University.
