Julia Stewart's first leadership lesson unexpectedly came at 16, when she spilled a gloppy tray of IHOP pancake syrup all over two elderly customers.
The maple syrup went here. The blueberry syrup spilled there. And the strawberry syrup oozed everywhere.
She was a newbie waitress then in desperate need of self-confidence. Her manager emerged from the kitchen, but he had no words of anger. Instead, he reassured her that the world hadn't just ended even though Stewart thought it had. "Stuff happens," her manager said. "Don't worry about it."
In that moment, Stewart learned that the best leaders always empathize first. Fast forward through Stewart's eye-popping career — including stints as CEO of both IHOP and Applebee's. She brought them together in 2007 in the DineEquity (later renamed Dine Brands Global) parent company — and that core value has never changed.
"To be a great leader you have to show you care," she said. "Whenever I visited a restaurant, I always went to the back of the house first to talk with the dishwashers and the cooks. You can never forget who makes the restaurant run."
Reinvent Yourself
And she's still at it. This time around with a wellness twist. "I spent a career with too much salt, sugar, protein and portion size," she said of her time in executive roles at Carl's Jr., Taco Bell, IHOP and Applebee's.
Perhaps that's why, two years ago, she formed yet another company — but this one was the diametrical opposite of the restaurant chains she ran that sold indulgent foods. This time around, she's created Alurx, a wellness app laser-focused on stress management, sleep and better nutrition.
It's tough to bet against her success. Stewart was the brainchild for Dine Brands, the world's largest full-service restaurant company with more than 3,700 restaurants in 22 countries. During her time as CEO, she resurrected IHOP and lifted it above Denny's to become the nation's No. 1 family dining chain.
She then purchased Applebee's, revamped its image and made it the No. 1 casual dining chain and almost doubled its same-store sales under the familiar "Eat'n Good in the Neighborhood" banner.
Simplify Your Message
Something else has played a major role in Stewart's success as a leader: simplifying and communicating her vision to every employee.
"The key is to communicate that vision up, down and sideways," she said. "Every employee needs to understand why and how their job matters to that vision."
Perhaps the very first vision that sprang her forward in the restaurant world took place her senior year of high school. She was taking an advertising class and her assignment was to create a product that McDonald's could meld a new marketing campaign around. That's when she concocted what she dubbed the McDonald's Masher. This was a special device that mashed burgers with the imprint of the famous McDonald's arches logo.
McDonald's never adopted the idea. But her high school ad teacher was impressed enough to convince the local evening news to broadcast a story on her creation. "This gave me bragging rights and set up a future career," she said.
Break Through The Glass Ceiling
Perhaps her toughest life lesson of all, however, came years later when she learned about the glass ceiling that's too familiar to so many women in the restaurant business.
At the time, she was president of Applebee's — with the elusive promise of being named CEO after she turned around the chain. She accomplished the turnaround within three years, but when she inquired about being named CEO, she was told that would never happen.
No, she was never specifically told it was because she was female. But she knew in her heart that was why.
That's when the chairman of IHOP — her old stomping ground — came calling. He asked her to come be CEO and fix the brand in 2001. She devised new operating standards for IHOP and ultimately doubled the average unit sales volume. The chain leapfrogged Denny's to become the nation's top-performing family restaurant chain.
Four years later, in order to protect IHOP from becoming a takeover victim, she devised a plan for IHOP to purchase Applebee's for $2.7 billion. She became CEO of both chains under the newly formed Dine Brands Global. And, no, she insists, she did not purchase Applebee's as revenge for not previously being named CEO.
"You don't borrow $2.7 billion for revenge," she said.
Reinvent Your Industry
Stewart's move helped to change the industry.
As part of the acquisition, Stewart created a cost-savings purchasing co-op between IHOP and Applebee's after she discovered that 75% of their products were bought from the same manufacturers. Those savings were reinvested right back into the company and drove it forward.
Few saw the success of this move more clearly than John Jakubek, who was chief human resources officer at Dine Brands.
Initially, franchisees resisted this move, he says, because they thought it was only about cost-cutting. What they slowly began to realize, however, was that Stewart was the real deal — and was 100% backing their success. It also helped to attract top executive talent to the company. "It speaks volumes that Julia was holding herself personally accountable," he said, for shifting the franchisee mindset from extreme resistance to positive adoption.
Think Positively
Perhaps Stewart learned some of this positivity from her folks.
She grew up mostly in the San Diego area, where both of her parents were schoolteachers. Each night at dinner, her father encouraged Stewart to come to the table with a new word. Her dad wanted her to become a schoolteacher — and was initially disappointed when she went into the restaurant business.
But early in her career, when Stewart was an executive at Taco Bell, she asked her father to spend a day shadowing her at work. That's when her dad saw the light — and even got tears in his eyes. He saw that his daughter had clearly become a teacher — just not one who worked within the confines of a classroom.
"I still mentor and teach every day of my life," said Stewart.
Adopt Lifelong Learning
Stewart learns from others, too. Including her own kids.
"The higher you go in your career, the easier it is to get consumed by it," she said. But she kept getting pulled back into reality by her kids. "Some days, finding the soccer cleats was the most important thing I did all day," she said.
Maybe that explains why she ultimately stepped down as CEO of Dine Brands back in 2017. She won't say why she left. "It was me and the board of directors agreeing to disagree."
At 68, she has no plans for retirement.
Instead, she keeps an active 10-year plan posted on the wall in her Pasadena, Calif. home office. Among the key bullet points on that plan: be a great friend; take care of my body, heart, and soul; and practice gratitude every day.
Practice Gratitude Like Stewart
Some of that gratitude hearkens back to when the wide-eyed IHOP waitress spilled that tray filled with sticky pancake syrup all over two guests. Not only did her manager let it go — but so, too, did the two elderly guests who were covered in syrup.
In fact, the two guests took such a liking to Stewart that they kept returning to the restaurant. Each time they returned, they insisted on only sitting in Stewart's section. "They basically became family," she said.
Stewart knows her first leadership lesson began that day. "It was my worst day and my best day," she said. "Wasn't I lucky to have them both together?"
Stewart's Keys
- Took over as IHOP CEO in 2001, later forming Dine Brands Global.
- Overcame: Confidence issues and sexism in a male-dominated industry.
- Lesson: "To be a great leader you have to show you care."
