Is Leadership Training Only for Upper Management? WFF Opens a New Model for Its 8,000 Members

A significant portion of managers in the restaurant and foodservice industry starts their careers within operations. An employee who begins as a service worker, shift supervisor, or assistant restaurant manager can eventually manage large teams; however, an increase in operational knowledge does not automatically mean that good leadership skills will develop.

The new collaboration announced by the Women’s Foodservice Forum on August 12, 2026, focuses precisely on this gap. WFF is preparing to offer leadership and accountability training to its members in partnership with Culture Partners, which works in the fields of organizational culture and change management. The program is designed to potentially cover WFF’s over 8,000 members.

The first implementation will be the “Lead from Who You Are” Leadership Development Workshops series, starting this fall. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, the program will begin on October 1 in Orlando and will continue in Atlanta, Dallas, Minneapolis, Columbus, and Orange County, concluding on November 10. There is also a virtual participation option for the Atlanta program. WFF’s current event announcements confirm the same six-stop schedule.

In one-day workshops, models developed by Culture Partners will be adapted to the foodservice industry. The announced curriculum focuses on helping managers recognize their own strengths, evaluate behavioral patterns, increase accountability within teams, and relate their leadership approach to business outcomes. This information is currently based on WFF and Culture Partners’ program announcements; independent performance data showing the impact of the training on employee engagement, sales, productivity, or turnover is not yet available.

Why is it not enough to train only upper management?

A notable aspect of WFF’s approach is that the leadership tools used are being opened up to different career levels, moving away from methodologies that were previously primarily accessed at the upper management level. WFF President and CEO Kelli Valade states that she does not see organizational culture and business outcomes as separate issues based on her management experience in companies like Chili’s, Red Lobster, and Denny’s. Valade’s assessment should be read as a management approach behind the program rather than a performance proof since it is included in the organization’s own statement.

This approach may be particularly meaningful for shift managers and first-level managers in foodservice businesses. The point at which an employee first begins to manage a team is when they face tasks such as shift distribution, providing feedback, conflict management, performance tracking, and employee motivation. Promoting a technically good employee to a managerial position does not automatically equip them with these skills.

The issue is not unique to the foodservice industry. McKinsey and LeanIn.Org’s Women in the Workplace 2025 report indicates that women are not adequately represented at all levels of corporate career ladders, making up only 29% of C-suite positions. The research also shows that women in the early stages of their careers have less access to sponsorship and support from senior executives compared to men. This study covers the corporate workforce in the U.S. and Canada; therefore, it is not accurate to apply the results directly to the restaurant industry. However, it provides a broader context for the need to establish leadership pipelines not only at the top level but also in the early stages of careers.

One striking result of the 2025 study is the difference between employees' career motivation and their desire for promotion. While 88% of entry-level women say their careers are important to them, only 69% express a desire for promotion; among men, the desire for promotion is 80%. McKinsey does not attribute this difference solely to "less ambition"; it notes that access to sponsorship, executive support, and advancement opportunities also affects the situation.

Therefore, it may not be sufficient for leadership development programs to remain in the format of conferences or motivational speeches. When a system is not established in which employees can take on more responsibilities after training, performance reviews are conducted more consistently, and internal promotion paths are made visible, it becomes difficult to demonstrate the training's impact on operations.

How should the success of the training program be measured?

Since the WFF–Culture Partners collaboration is still at the beginning of implementation, the results of the workshops in the fall of 2026 are unknown. Organizations define the collaboration as the first step in a broader development program that will continue throughout the year.

When evaluating similar programs for foodservice businesses, looking only at the indicator “how many employees received training?” is limited. More meaningful measurement areas may include the internal promotion rate of trained employees, turnover rate after becoming a manager, the rate of filling open managerial positions from within, team engagement, and the manager's performance in the first 90–180 days.

Especially if the progress of female employees in the leadership pipeline is to be examined, looking only at the total percentage of female employees is also insufficient. When the transition rates from shift supervisor to restaurant manager and from restaurant manager to regional manager are measured separately, it becomes clearer where the career pipeline narrows.

This approach aligns with WFF’s founding purpose. Established in 1989, the organization runs programs that support the career and leadership development of women in the foodservice industry; it reports having over 8,000 members and more than 70 corporate partners in its current structure. These member and partner figures are based on WFF’s own corporate statement.

What does it mean for foodservice businesses in Turkey?

In Turkey, the transition of employees to management positions in restaurant and hotel operations often occurs based on experience and performance. While strong operational knowledge is critical, an employee managing a team for the first time may also need support in workforce planning, feedback, conflict resolution, coaching, and performance evaluation.

Especially for chain restaurants and hotel groups, creating their own “first-time manager” programs can develop a pool of managers from existing employees instead of constantly seeking managers from outside. The goal here should not only be to provide training but to relate the training to real career advancement.

In our view: One of the biggest opportunities in leadership training in the hospitality sector is to shift the investment from the top of the organizational chart to earlier career stages. Because the person who often determines the employee experience on a daily basis is not the CEO; it is the shift manager, restaurant manager, chef de partie, housekeeping supervisor, or front office manager. Promoting a good employee to management and then leaving them to learn people management on their own can create unnecessary risks for both the employee and the business. Businesses in Turkey should consider management training as part of a succession and employee retention system rather than a “fringe benefit.” The effectiveness of the training budget should be measured not by the number of certificates but by internal promotions, the permanence of managers in their positions, and changes in team turnover rates.