The Future Leader

Diversity, temperament, ability, passion: I questioned one of my closest mentors “what makes you hire someone to manage one of your dairies? What brings you to choose to foster growth and leadership within that person?” His answer was simple, “these four things.” I admit that I felt it to be a vague answer at first. Then, I thought about his farms, his process, his success, and me as a mentee of his. I should point out that his farms are highly successful and every time I meet a manager that works for him, I am left with being highly impressed with their communication, and leadership skills. I would encourage you to ask yourself what you are looking for in a manager  (your answers may differ) but lets re-frame the old thought of only a “workhorse”, or “he/she knows cows, “he/she works 14hr. days”. Our industry is shifting and as we grow and strive to be efficient and strategic, our answers should be changing to “what qualities do I want in a good manager?”

Number one: look for someone with a highly diverse background. This doesn’t mean they have to be a world traveler. It can mean they have a unique skillset or experience outside of farming. My mentor has hired everyone from competitive body builders to businessmen.

Temperament, choose someone non-reactive to pressure or confrontational situations. The ability to show grace in an awkward situation is key. if you hire someone who demonstrates grace, you will find they respond well to conflict on farm and can communicate well with employees. While you’re prospecting a new hire, be sure to ask them to give an example of a situation where they demonstrated good temperament or grace.

Ability, the obvious one, right? We need managers able to carry out tasks on the farm, but the true definition of ability is a person who performs well and acts diligently. So, look for the character trait of diligence rather than actual practical on farm skill. We can teach the tasks on farm but we can’t teach diligence because it comes from motivation within.

Passion, whether it’s business, cows, agronomy, or some combinations thereof; hire someone who shares a passion that’s directly useful to your farming operation.  

You’re going to ask me “Great, but where do I find this person?” Stop looking in your conventional places. Look for the diversity. We can teach cows, milking routines, and feeding, but can we teach diversity of experience, temperament, overall ability? Likely these are experiences that require personal growth, upbringing, and my personal favorites, grace and humility. The rest we can teach, inspire, and grow.