Leading Creatively: Julia Child — Master Chef and Media Pioneer, Inspiring Authenticity and Excellence
I will be forever thankful to Julia Child: I once got a job I loved thanks to her.
No, I never met her and she didn’t put in a good word for me to a prospective employer. But she inspired me. I loved her PBS show The French Chef when I was small — and benefited from her inspiration back then when my mother made Julia’s Boeuf bourgignon recipe or my dad made chocolaty Pot de Crème for our dessert.
What’s not to admire about someone who describes what makes a chicken a roaster or not with the flair of a seasoned entertainer? Who moves on with undaunted enthusiasm past kitchen disasters visible for all to see on national television? Who calmly improvises new and delicious dishes from failures in executing a classic recipe?
No wonder that she is a national treasure — the best-selling author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook and several more — plus her fascinating and touching memoir, My Life in France; lampooned with affection on another TV show, Saturday Night Live; the unseen yet ever-present protagonist in the book and film Julie and Julia; and holding a place of honor with a permanent exhibit of her home kitchen at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
Julia was more than an entertaining and pioneering TV chef to me; She showed what it means to be authentic, vulnerable, and excellent.
She provided permission space for me and countless many more to be myself and be my best and to love and accept my quirky and sometimes anxious self growing up. She even inspired me when I was a 9-year-old to play an exuberant character like her for a talent show to raise money for a charity.
So back to how Julia helped me get the job I loved…
The leader interviewing me for the role on her team asked me about my hobbies and who inspired me. Without hesitation, I replied, “Cooking — and Julia Child.” The leader’s expression changed from neutral to interested as she leaned forward, paying closer attention. I elaborated briefly by saying how much Julia Child had inspired my own love of cooking and my own creativity in and outside of the kitchen.
The leader then said, “I used to work with Julia Child.” I was in stunned and happy awe. It turned out that this leader was, among many of her talents, a culinary expert. Decades apart, both she and Julia had attended Smith College in Massachusetts. The two of them had cooked together. Whether I got the job or not at that point, I felt happy just hearing that.
Picking up on my love of cooking, my interviewer asked me what seemed like an innocuous, easy question: “How do you prepare Thanksgiving dinner?”
I thoughtfully outlined how I planned the meal a month ahead of time starting with knowing who would be there and creating the shopping list, then planning a week-by-week, step-by-step approach to preparing the meal. I wanted to enjoy a relaxed holiday as much as anyone else, so I determined what could be made ahead and when — and which tasks to delegate to others to do on or before the big day.
I got the job — and so much more
When calling me to share the news, the leader told me she had chosen me because of how I described managing the project of bringing a Thanksgiving meal to life. We laughed about how my interest in Julia Child had led to a rich conversation about project management, creativity, and work style.
Taking that job was an inspiring and pivotal point in my career. In the years of working together that followed, I learned and grew through this leader’s mentoring, empowerment, high standards, and belief in me. She helped me turn my own “kitchen disasters” into positive learning opportunities. The bonus: We also got to cook together.
To this day I credit Julia Child for her inspiration, leadership, and example of authenticity. My life and career are better because of her. And I will be forever grateful to the leader who helped me grow to a new level of excellence and impact by understanding who and what inspired me to be my best.
Diane Bailey-Boulet is the President of Scale Excellence, focused on growing resourceful and resilient leaders, organizations, and communities. Her purpose is being a champion of opportunity for all.
