Many restaurant managers want to be promoted, but how many of them really do anything to get there?

More often than not, managers simply hope, wish, pray or wait to get promoted to General Manager or an even higher position.

Regardless of the restaurant you work for, or how many other people are also in line for the same promotion, here are the ways you can take control of your career and make a promotion happen.

I was once an overworked, irritated, greasy-food eating, no-life having, moody and perpetually sleep-deprived restaurant manager. I was definitely burning my candle at both ends.

I’d spend 11 to 12 hours at work, plus two hours driving both ways. My off days would evaporate into catching up on sleep, self-care and errands. My family never saw me in the daylight, and very rarely at night. My friends had written me off as the “always at work” type. I had no mental space to think about what I liked, who I was or what I really wanted my life to be about. 

I was stuck in this rinse-and-repeat cycle.

Between wearing many hats, the pressure to wear them all well, and juggling what can seem like a thousand daily tasks, restaurant management is survival of the fittest. 

It’s a job where shifts notoriously last 10-14 hours (sometimes longer), which can be taxing on the body and overwhelming on the mind. Managers can easily fall into the slump of going through the motions, losing enthusiasm for their work.

And when your enthusiasm goes, so does the trust and respect you receive from your team.

Here are 5 steps to be more fulfilled at work and become the restaurant manager your team loves to work with.