How a San Francisco restaurant reminded me what great teamwork looks like.
A couple of months ago, I had the joy of dining at Merchant Roots, a small but extraordinary San Francisco restaurant known for its daring creativity. At the time, the theme was eggs – a playful, elegant, and delicious journey through one ingredient that many of us take for granted. The food was inventive, surprising, and beautifully executed. But what impressed me most wasn’t just the dishes. It was the process behind them.
Every quarter, the Merchant Roots team reinvents its entire menu around a new theme. While diners are enjoying the current menu, the chefs, servers, and staff are already immersed in creating the next one. It isn’t the vision of a single genius, it’s a collective effort. Everyone contributes ideas, everyone has space to be creative, and the structures in place ensure those ideas become a reality.
That struck me because it mirrors what we know about high-performing teams.
Dining at Merchant Roots was more than a memorable meal. It was a reminder that behind every extraordinary outcome, whether in a kitchen, a business, or a sports team, is a group of people empowered to dream, supported to deliver, and inspired to do it together.
So, here’s the question worth asking yourself: How often are you creating the space for your people to contribute, innovate, and perform at their best?
