Leadership in New Zealand Agriculture, with a focus on people management has only become a widespread discussion topic in recent years. There is a need for effective people management as the sector relies heavily on manual labour to achieve business success. Managers in the sector have historically been promoted from within the sector based on good technical capabilities. What may not be well understood is that the knowledge capability associated with being technically proficient, does not necessarily correspond with being an effective manager.
This report aims to describe a small qualitative study conducted on a group of farm owners, managers and leaders. It will also describe the qualities and attributes identified in these leaders and how the learnings can be utilized and applied by novice or first-time managers.
The research show that good managers prioritise the care and welfare of their employees. They ensure that good communication about work and home life is enacted to better understand how their employees are feeling. This leads to a relationship of increased trust, which helps the leader to engage with staff about the business and its operations. Leaders ensure they behave consistently with all of their staff to role model good behaviour and understand conflict. The leaders interviewed have all grown in their leadership skills and have come to value reflection and introspection. This has been used to improve further on their leadership traits.
The leaders interviewed have largely learnt and refined the skills, knowledge and tools they use to lead well through trial and error. Finding out what works and what doesn’t has been an individualistic progression for them. On top of trial-and-error learning, some of the interviewees had attended short form courses, as well as using their respective industries for support. All of the interviewees have over the course of their leadership journey, relied heavily on trusted mentors to help guide them. The ability for a leader to utilize the knowledge and advice of a more experienced leader has helped all interviewees grow.
The leaders interviewed in this study all displayed transformational leadership qualities. These qualities revolved around empowerment through trust in their employees. They recognized that they needed to understand each employee as individuals to get the best out of them, and once they truly appreciated them individually, it was easier to empower them. The leaders interviewed all dealt with conflict management as part of their role, however, most admitted to being non-confrontational people. They understood the need to display positive leadership traits during conflict management in order to have a functioning business. They had learnt to put more effort in to doing it better as they moved through their leadership journey.
The leaders interviewed recognized that good leadership was not always the easy choice when managing people, but the long-term gain made it worth it. They recognized that time, effort and focus had to be implemented on a daily basis in order to achieve good management practices. The structure and financial constraints of a business might also impact a manager’s capabilities to practice good leadership. They also warned that a manager’s ego would quickly ruin hopes of good leadership, as it restricted individualism and ingenuity of employees.
Jack Dwyer
