Growing Management

Going From Boss to Coach

Victoria G Myers
By  Victoria G. Myers , Progressive Farmer Senior Editor
Shane Guest (left) said the PeopleFirst management program taught him a strong team starts with good communication and matching employees to jobs that fit their skill sets. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo courtesy of Wheeler Land and Livestock)

Managing a feedyard is second nature to Shane Guest. The general manager of Wheeler Land and Livestock, out of Wheeler, Texas, grew up around feedyards as a kid and has managed a ranch and worked in a vet clinic. So working with cattle comes easy for him. Working with people, however, can be a little more challenging.

SHARPEN SKILLS

Three years ago, Guest decided to try a program to help him build management skills for the people side of his workday. The 24,000-head-capacity feedyard has 24 full-time employees, including office and yard staff.

Wheeler Land and Livestock is a large operation founded in 2009 by five independent cattle feeders in the state. It includes feeding pens, a feed mill, weighing scales, rolling stock, office and an animal health facility. There is also a 3,100-acre farm operation used for grazing and to produce corn, alfalfa, wheat silage, cotton and peanuts.

Guest said he felt he needed better skills to understand his employees and to help them be more productive. He teamed up with Zoetis' PeopleFirst training team.

"The first thing I learned is that people have to be in the right spot. The next thing is that communication is very important," he said.

Guest's instructor was Rodney Jackson, who has been in the coaching and leadership-development field since 1994. Much of his work is in organizational development, with a special emphasis on veterinarians, dairy leaders and feedyard leaders.

Guest and 13 other participants met once each month for four months. Facilitators led the two-day sessions.

KNOW YOUR EMPLOYEES

"The thing that kept coming up for me was this need to break down your employees and understand that each person has a different mindset on what to do and how to do it," Guest explained. "That was a big deal for me, to see how to break that down, manage performance and really sort of coach employees."

P[L1] D[0x0] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]

He added the program helped him see that an employee may be strong on a certain task and not need supervision, but give him something else to do, and he may need training. This helped Guest see where he, as a manager, needed to be more hands-on.

"I was raised in one of these older management styles, where you did what you were told to do, no questions asked. If you messed up, you were reprimanded," he said. "But many of the people we work with now may be new to feedyards. Instead of getting mad or frustrated when they do something wrong, you have to learn to back up. You'll get more from them that way. They buy in to what you are trying to do, and that makes all the difference. If my employees are successful, that makes for a better team. That makes me successful."

MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

Jackson said there are some specific challenges when it comes to employee management in agriculture. First, he pointed to what he called "strong paradigms of boss versus employee relationships." Sometimes this shows itself in a command and control style of management. That may get compliance, but it won't get commitment.

"The challenge is as more millennials, folks in their 20s and 30s, come into leadership roles; we have four or even five generations in the workforce. That can create difficult issues," he said.

Another challenge common in ag is the changing demographics of the workforce. "As more first- and second-generation immigrants become part of the workforce, there are greater cultural differences," Jackson explained. "Often, leaders in our classes want to blame problems on the language barrier; but our experience is that it goes much deeper to how we socialize, how we talk with respect to each other, how we define the relationship of el jefe (the boss). Often, some of our most successful business owners are not prepared for these challenges and conflict abounds."

Each person who participates in a PeopleFirst program leaves with a development plan and an agreement to work with his or her boss and a mentor to execute the training. Regular check-ins during the program help leaders work through issues and fully implement and adjust to changes. But Jackson cautioned that just buying into a PeopleFirst program and having a good facilitator doesn't mean behaviors will change. That takes work and time.

"The behavior is determined by the organization and commitment to follow-through on the action plan," he said. "If the top leaders in an organization see change as imperative, and we see follow-through from that level all the way down, then there is transformational change."

BUILD A TEAM

Guest said the experience gave him a new perspective and taught him how to respond to challenges in a way that builds up the whole team.

"The biggest thing in a feedyard operation today is the employees," he said. "The cattle end is easy. But getting the right people and managing them is like being a good coach. It's like being able to get a kid to play at a level he never thought was possible. That's rewarding for everyone."

TURNOVER WORRIES

Every time an employee leaves, it's like starting over. You have to train the new hire and take into account the time it will take the employee to get up to speed on the new job.

Employee turnover that seems excessive can indicate a bigger problem, said Brett Briston, PeopleFirst business solutions manager with Zoetis. The following are a few points he advises managers to consider.

1. Turnovers Are Expensive. Estimates from the American Management Association show that, on average, employee turnover costs from 25% to 200% of each person's annual salary. What does one turnover cost your company? Factor in interviewing costs, overtime, training, loss of productivity, etc.

2. Make Employees Feel a Part of the Organization. If employees aren't integrated into the operation quickly, they become disengaged. Good direct supervision is the key to getting them to stay and feel a part of the business.

3. Look At Your Supervisor. One of the top influences of workplace engagement is the immediate supervisor. Employee engagement reflects commitment to the operation. A highly-engaged workforce means less stress on management and ownership because goals will be met without a constant need to motivate.

4. Communication and Accountability. Create open lines of communication and clearly outline employees' roles. Tell them where they are heading and how to get there. Each employee should be held accountable and have a part in the operation's success. Check goals weekly or monthly.

5. Share a Positive Culture. Aim for a positive work environment with a good company culture. Many owners and managers are surprised to learn that pay typically is not what keeps employees happy or makes them stay.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To find out how to participate in a Zoetis PeopleFirst program in your area, go to GrowPeopleFirst.com, or visit with your local Zoetis representative.

(VM/CZ)

P[] D[728x170] M[320x75] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
P[L2] D[728x90] M[320x50] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]

Victoria Myers

P[R1] D[300x250] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
P[R2] D[300x600] M[320x50] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
DIM[1x3] LBL[article-box] SEL[] IDX[] TMPL[standalone] T[]
P[R3] D[300x250] M[0x0] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]