Open communication is a key for leaders to guide their organizations
Seed industry leaders will have the opportunity to advocate on important issues during the ASTA Leadership Summit, June 8-11 in Washington, D.C.
For more information, see the First Quarter issue of Seed Today.
By Dan Foor
What’s on all of our minds right now...
To say that the last several months have seen unprecedented, given the shifts in domestic and global politics, might be the understatement of the year.
Regardless of where you sit on the political, social, and economic spectrums, the speed and impact of change has created significant uncertainty and sometimes brought along with it a bit – or quite a bit – more stress.
In times like these, leaders are called upon to be “the calm” in choppy waters and to continue to steer their organization with a steady hand, ensuring that the course is true, although the destination may be a bit more difficult to see clearly.
Open Communication
I would suggest that one of the most important things leaders can do is to communicate frequently and openly with their teams about the opportunities and challenges facing your business.
Improved communication is often one of the most cited requests from employees in nearly any survey you can find when you Google the topic.
Remember that communication is not one-directional, however.
Be sure to create environments in which your team members can ask what is on their mind so that you and other leaders in your organization can genuinely listen and respond.
Town Hall Gatherings
In addition to the regular management or leadership team meetings that you may already be having, consider having a monthly (or quarterly) town hall-type gathering in which you invite all to be engaged and learn about the current happenings in your organization.
Communication platforms such as Teams or Zoom have made it incredibly easy to conduct these types of activities with the benefit of being able to record the meeting so that those who might not be able to make the actual event can catch up at a later time.
In my experience, these types of discussions have been immensely helpful in sharing not only what’s on the minds of the company’s leadership – about the present and the future – but also understanding what’s on the minds of others in your organization.
A key aspect of such events is to ensure that adequate time is provided to take questions as the content is being shared, and/or to provide time at the end of the discussion for a dedicated question and answer segment to invite meaningful exchanges.
If you are already conducting town hall type events, congratulations!
If you are not, why not try it?
It is a simple way to share and understand what’s on all our minds.
Next month or next quarter, challenge yourself to ACTIVATE this type of event in your organization.
ASTA Leadership Summit
One additional action you can take is to attend the upcoming American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Leadership Summit, June 8-11 in Washington, D.C.
There, you will have the opportunity to not only find out what is on the minds of our nation’s and industry’s leaders but also be able to advocate for those issues that most matter to our sector.
Learn more at: betterseed.org/LS25.
You will also have some great content for your next town hall after the Summit.
Dan Foor is 2024-2025 chair of ASTA, the American Seed Trade Association, Alexandria, VA (703-837-8140/betterseed.org). Foor is vice president for Remington Seeds, Remington, IN (remingtonseeds.com).