With its silky texture and deep flavor, foie gras is one of the most prized culinary ingredients. So why then is it banned in the culinary centers of San Francisco, Chicago, and New York?
Foie gras is banned because of the way it is made. Foie gras literally means “fatty liver.” This 3,000-year-old process of fattening is done by force-feeding birds unnaturally – through a metal tube, in mass quantities, and with irregular ingredients (corn mash boiled in fat), just days before they are slaughtered. Some in the food industry consider these methods torture, and yet others do not believe the method is torturous and would hate to lose such a storied and valuable ingredient.
But according to Dan Barber, the best foie gras in the world is not made that way.
In Dan Barber’s book, The Third Plate, he travels to southwestern Spain and visits farmer Eduardo Sousa. Sousa makes natural foie gras by taking advantage of the fall’s temperature drop when geese and ducks gorge on food to prepare for the winter. Additionally, he does not require they eat corn or grain. They roam his land and eat whatever they want, in this case a lot of tree nuts and olives. He pays little to no attention to the gastronomical expectations of foie gras’ taste, texture, color, or the process by which it is made. In his words, “I just trust the geese.”
Trusting wild geese? We have a hard enough time trusting fellow humans!
There has been much written about trust in the workplace and whether it is given, granted, or earned. Regardless of which of these you agree with, what is universally true is that trust is crucial to strong relationships that must support ongoing levels of conflict, dissent, and complex choices. It is a leader’s job to create the context for this trust to occur whether it is ever returned or not.
Perhaps if we look more closely at Sousa’s foie gras practices, we can see that there are commonalities between trusting the geese and trusting one another: establishing trust requires uncommon advocacy, place-based wisdom, belief in others, and a will to protect.
Advocacy – In 2007 Sousa won the Coup de Coeur, the famed French culinary award. A Spaniard winning this award would be like an Italian winning a Southern BBQ competition. Shocked by the award (but pleased to anger the French), Sousa deflected the praise and noted that the geese were the real creators of the prized delicacy. It is easier to give trust and receive trust if it is clear that you are not in it for yourself. When people know you value them and advocate for their interests as much as your own, they will trust you and give you their loyalty. If they know you are out for yourself, their internal alarm sounds, and they will say to themselves, “Watch out for that person.”
Contextual Wisdom – Sousa knows the geese, the land, the grazing patterns of other animals, and how the weather impacts all of these variables. He has a deep understanding of what makes his farm an area “that is conducive to life” so that the geese won’t leave. This is no different in the workplace. You must know your business, its trends, and threats. You must build your understanding of how your stakeholders uniquely give and receive trust, as well as the currency they use to give and receive it. Each organization, business unit, and leader will have different “trust currencies,” and so deeply mining your context will help you be more credible and trustworthy. In doing so, you will create a work environment that is “conducive to life” and increase your organization’s retention.
A Will to Protect – On the perimeter of Sousa’s land there is a fence that is electrically charged; different from most farms, however, this fence’s electrical charge is on the outside, so as to keep the geese in but to keep the predators out. According to Sousa this is the reason that his geese stay. Many executives use benefits packages, amenities, and bonuses to retain employees, when it may be true that what employees really want is a sense of safety so that they feel comfortable to open up, take appropriate risks, and expose vulnerabilities.
Belief in Others – It is not always safe to trust people. We’ve all been burned by a colleague, teammate, friend, or even spouse; but believing in the inherent goodness of others allows people to do what they have been hired to do. Sousa shows this belief in his geese by simply letting their seasonal eating fatten their liver. And it does just that.
| Leadership Behaviors | Response |
| Advocacy | Loyalty |
| Deep understanding of context | Credibility |
| Will to protect | Sense of safety |
| Belief in others | Confidence |