“Winter Blues – and Opportunities”
by Chris Reinhardt, feedlot specialist
Cold. Snow. Wind chill factor. Depending on where you are, Old Man Winter is currently either right in your lap or just around the corner. With all the difficulties and inconveniences that a good old fashioned winter throws at us, it may also provide a break from the normal hectic pace of production agriculture.
Does this break in the action provide you as manager a chance to dig into evaluating your team’s productivity and your employees’ attitudes, performance, and growth? If you’ve been putting off individual employee interviews and a more formal job review, now is the time. Here is a metaphor: If an individual decides independently to take a slightly divergent path along the same general direction as the team, the turn may be sufficiently subtle so as to not even be noticed by the team or the manager. But after an extended time the slight deviation from true North will lead them to a completely different destination—probably not a good thing.
Regular, one-on-one, two-way dialog with each employee on the direction of the organization and the individual’s role in the team will likely bring to light any underlying issues. This can prevent or at least minimize potentially catastrophic workplace misunderstandings. Managing human resources isn’t easy, it’s rarely fun, and it may not even be what you signed up for. In reality, you don’t need to actively, intentionally, manage your workplace; you can choose to let it manage itself. The problem is that I guarantee you won’t like the outcome.
Now is the time to take some time—or, if necessary, MAKE some time—to get inside your employees’ heads, let them know what they’re doing right, what could use some attention, listen to their concerns, and make clear for them what their role is in the future success of the organization.
