Farming At The Next Level: Leading And Managing People

Do you recognize this man? He loves to farm. He is a producer through and through. He is good at what he does. He is skilled and competent. He knows a lot. He works hard. Too hard.

His answer for more results is to work harder. He drives himself and others to the point of exhaustion. In fact he loves his farm too much to risk mistakes. He doesn’t delegate well or let go of responsibility. No one else can do it good enough. He is reluctant to hire others and finds being an employer frustrating.

With his hired employees or with family members, he hovers, checks up, overreacts and rushes in too quickly to correct mistakes. When something goes wrong, he loses his temper and becomes critical. Decisions? They’re all his. Down deep, he doesn’t trust anyone but himself.

He doesn’t train. He doesn’t have the time. It is easier to do it himself than try to explain what he is doing. He assumes family members and hired employees should already know the right (his) way. Communication is not one of his strong points.

He comes across as a bone-weary, self-pitying and martyred soul overburdened with life’s responsibilities and clearly put upon by others who don’t measure up to his exacting standards.

He thinks he is a manager - he is not. A manager steps back and works through other people. A manager devises methods, standards and procedures, and delegates important work.

A manager makes a commitment to communications, training and teamwork. Working through other people requires a different approach in thinking and priorities than that of being an independent producer.

He thinks he is a leader - he is not. A leader puts people and their needs for acceptance, love, belonging, importance and significance ahead of the farm and the work. This takes a major shift in thinking and priorities. A poor leader doesn’t give much in the way of kindness, appreciation, recognition and attention. He motivates through intimidation and fear.

A farmer needs to be a producer, manager and a leader. It is hard to imagine a farm operation that is not tuned into production. It seems so obvious that the name of the game is production. Without production, there are no profits.

To farm at the scale needed in today’s ag economy, farmers need to combine good production attitudes and skills with additional skills in the management and leadership of the human resources on the farm. For example:

- A leader takes responsibility and gives attention to all areas of his operation. He commits himself or herself to teaching and training, goal selection and planning, communications and problem-solving, and delegation and accountability.

- A leader creates an atmosphere where people feel free to express themselves. Family members and non-family employees need to be involved in problem analysis, problem solving and decision making. Without involvement, commitment suffers.

- A leader invests in the productive capability of the farm’s asset-producing resources - the people. A leader builds a complementary team with specific areas of expertise and competence. A leader recognizes strengths and weaknesses and plays to people’s strengths. Opportunities are given to others to shine and make unique contributions.

- A leader encourages children to spend time away from the farm. A farm has to be their dream too. How will they find that out unless they go away and learn that their dream is their own?

In their time away children grow in their competence, knowledge and ability to make an independent contribution. They make their mark somewhere else and return full of confidence and self-esteem. A leader welcomes their enthusiasm and ideas they bring to the table.

- A leader screens out problem partners and employees. Farming partners who are dishonest, addicted, lazy, self-centered and rigid drain everyone’s enthusiasm and commitment. A leader recognizes that for problems of this magnitude their adult children need to correct them before they are invited to be a part of the operation. The farm can’t double as a rehabilitation center.

- A leader is a learner. A leader takes time to be on top of his or her field. The leader goes for the big picture - trying to spot trends and new developments. This takes a commitment of time and resources. The vision gained will inspire confidence in the goals of the enterprise.

Another aspect of learning is a willingness to ask, listen and check out ideas with everyone who is doing the hands-on work. A leader accepts and values differences of opinion. It is in the free exchange of ideas that a leader learns and then adds value to other people’s ideas.

A leader helps others become comfortable with change. Attention is paid to individual fears and concerns. Changes come only after thorough discussion, persuasion and mutual consent.

Farm management in larger, multi-family operations involves skills and attitudes that go beyond the production of agriculture. The biggest challenge of their management is teamwork within the family and finding and retaining good employees. Too many producers think they are managers and leaders. They are not.