People Over Positions: How Great Hospitality Leaders Create Culture w/ Claire Stenhouse

What does it take to build a strong team in hospitality without losing your soul in the process?

In this episode, Paul sits down with Claire Stenhouse, Restaurant Manager at the iconic Attica in Melbourne. Claire brings 20 years of global hospitality experience, having worked across multiple countries. With experience alongside Gordon Ramsay and Jason Atherton, plus a background in psychology, she’s all about people and strategy.

Claire shares how she’s learned to lead not with ego, but with humility, listening, and real human connection. She dives deep into building team culture, why micro-training works, and how retaining talent starts by understanding the whole person — not just their role on the roster.

Claire opens up about:

Why integrity is the foundation of strong leadership

The difference between managing humans vs managing rosters

How to support staff through structured listening and performance check-ins

The power of humility, psychological safety, and asking for help

Why investing time, not just money, keeps people around

If you're trying to build a workplace where people want to stay, this is a must-listen.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube

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