Red Lobster’s 36-year-old CEO recently said he’s plotting the restaurant industry’s greatest comeback story ever. Now he’s handing out sage advice to other young leaders.
In a recent How Leaders Lead with David Novak podcast episode, Damola Adamolekun said the key to success as a leader is being a better person.
“Leadership is self improvement,” Adamolekun said. “Understand yourself and what your strengths are and where you can be better. Because the stronger you are as a person, the more people are going to want to follow you.”
“So if you want to be a better leader, become a better person,” he continued.
Adamolekun took the helm of Red Lobster in August 2024 after a series of misfortunes at the once-failing casual-dining chain. The company had gone bankrupt, closed dozens of locations, and lost millions related to an endless shrimp promotion. The Endless Shrimp debacle came before Adamolekun’s time, and he said he would never bring it back because he “know[s] how to do math.”
