Big Grower January 2021 - 9

MANAGEMENT
D
o you have a specific career vision of being the president of a
company someday? Are you working on adding professional skill
sets that will enable you to take on a C-Level role? Do you have a
career dream? As a company, have you invested in a definitive training
and development program aimed at developing your next leaders?
The horticultural industry needs more leaders now and progressively
into the future. The number of retirements upcoming in the green
industry is staggering. Did you know there are over 100 owners of
companies retiring soon who have no clear leader to succeed them?
Overall, 60% of the professionals in the agriculture industry are over
55. As an industry, we endured a period with historically low numbers
of students and professionals interested in pursuing a green industry
career. This period has created a talent gap in what would often be
considered the next traditional leadership group. This group is talented
and knowledgeable, but it is merely a matter of supply and demand.
There are just not enough leaders to take over. And not enough have
been provided leadership training.
Throughout every sector, demographic and role in the green industry,
there are too few individuals who have had a specific desire and career
focus to run a company. Compare this to the financial sector or software
sectors where a high volume of professionals have an early passion and
focus on driving their careers to
the top leadership roles in their
industry. It is surprising how
few professionals in our industry
have had an initial desire to be a
president of a company.
A dynamic affecting this is
the sheer number of family-held
companies where leadership has
traditionally been passed to second
or third generations. While this is
admirable, it has also tempered
the career aspirations of those
who are not part of the family. We
are now at a tipping point where
there are fewer generations to
pass leadership roles to, causing
new and challenging exit planning
options for the current leaders.
A MUTUAL EFFORT
Question: How do we address
this predicament?
Answer: From the mutual effort
of individuals and companies.
Encourage students and early
HAVE A PLAN
If you do want to take the helm of a company someday, identify in
yourself the knowledge and skill sets you need to master, so you are ready.
Proactively take charge of gaining the knowledge and experience you lack
rather than relying on others.
There is as much onus on companies to be a part of increased leadership
development. Yes, this does require an investment. Begin to balance your
team's professional development with your automation budget. No matter
how automized, it still takes strong professionals for a company to realize
success.
Many assessment tools are available that will help a company identify
individuals with leadership behaviors. These tools identify a career plan for
those individuals that will infuse them with the skill sets needed to become
a strong leader in the future.
Does your company have career development planning, which includes
As an industry, we
endured a period
with historically low
numbers of students and
professionals interested
in pursuing a green
industry career.
career professionals to dream
and envision being a company
leader. Leadership is not for the
faint of heart with all its responsibilities and challenges. However, we
need more professionals to dream about wanting to run a company. Ask
yourself: have you allowed yourself to dream about this type of role? To
have more leaders, we need more professionals desiring to take on this
level of leadership.
With that desire comes the awareness that one needs to embrace
continual learning with curiosity and accept certain sacrifices that
driving their career to top leadership will require. This could include
putting in longer hours some days, the ability to relocate as necessary,
and volunteering to take on new tasks or help in other departments
when they are shorthanded.
Academically the technical knowledge of plants and cultivation is
essential. We have many excellent educational institutions producing
knowledgeable students. Increase focused programs on developing
leadership with curriculums geared to business and management. We
rightly celebrate our grower interns, but we should also celebrate those
doing horticulture industry internships in sales, marketing, accounting
or human resources.
rotation through different departments or functions? At the very least, does
the company invest in continual education or training programs focused on
improving communication, soft skills, sales, marketing, financial, operations
or supply chain knowledge?
Encourage and support these professionals to become active within the
industry via associations, seminars or other educational and networking
events. Don't be afraid of losing this
talent by this exposure.
Professionals who know their
company is investing fully in their
growth are much less likely to leave.
Employees who feel stifled in their
development will leap at the chance
for growth elsewhere.
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
No company has an endless
budget, but a company can
apply strategies that do not
require a monetary investment
- transparency in your business
and delegation of responsibilities.
Openness with your employees
about all facets of the business
directly correlates to increasing
their professional growth. For
example, companies applying
the " Great Game of Business "
approach to transparency have more
engaged and motivated employees
concerning their career progression.
Pairing high potential employees
with positive mentors also will
benefit the mentor themselves
increasing organizational talent
strength. Encourage delegating responsibilities and not micro-managing
those assigned these tasks. This must start from the highest leadership
levels. Current leaders ask yourself if too many business decisions are run
through you, or have you honestly delegated to your team decisions without
hovering over them? FYI - your business's valuation increases when
delegating decision making and becoming less owner-centric.
Growing the number of leaders is critical to the future success of the
entire industry. The gap can be closed with more professionals who desire
to run a company and put their plan in place. Couple this with companies
providing increased focus on training and development, and we have set
the stage for increased industry success that becomes sustainable for many
years to come.
Todd Downing (tdowning@bhcagroup.com) is a managing partner for
Best Human Capital Advisory Group and leads the Horticulture & Green
Industry executive search and advisory services. He has more than 30
years of experience in the industry and a passion for supporting its
continued professional growth.
JANUARY 2021 9
Big Grower January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Big Grower January 2021
