Smooth communication throughout your team keeps operations rolling without a squeak.
Working on the farm most of us as a child will have seen someone hand packing wheel bearings with grease, and will understand the saying “grease the wheels”!
Communication is the grease that keeps the wheels of the business turning without too many squeaks. I see it needed in three main areas:
These concepts apply among family members and non-family alike.
Think of ongoing operational coordination like the morning greasing routine on the tractor. You do it to prevent future problems. It’s usually pretty quick and follows a routine. It provides today’s or this week’s FYI and answers urgent questions.
How? This may be a morning meeting or a text or email. Some folks send out a message at the end of day saying who will be where tomorrow.
It provides the information all need to stay productive and not get frustrated.
If you’re thinking, “We’re a small team and everyone knows what’s going on. Why do I need this?” I challenge you to reconsider. Whatever format you use, the key is, keep it consistent and keep it focused so it’s not a waste of time. If the usual leader is unavailable, that doesn’t mean the meeting cannot happen! Ask someone else to lead it—a great growth opportunity.
Another variation is a “look ahead meeting” that helps everyone know what to expect and be ready to engage over some longer time period. This may be monthly or seasonal as work patterns shift. Use this time to solicit suggestions on workflow, assign teams, and provide training.
It sounds simple, but people appreciate knowing what’s coming up so they know how likely they’ll work late, what to wear for weather or grime, if they’ll be near home for lunch or not, who they’ll be working with—or to mentally prepare for a task they enjoy or dread. Sometimes as boss, we take for granted how much inside info we have.
So, just like you use the grease gun regularly, make sure you’re communicating with your team to keep operations rolling without a squeak.
Facing the uncomfortable: How to address a problem or conflict in your farm operation.
Now let’s consider communication when you need to address a problem or conflict.
When you hear a knocking sound in the tractor engine, you stop to investigate and fix it before it gets worse, right? That’s the first tip.
Some degree of annoyance and conflict is likely in any family or team, and even more likely in families working together. When difference of opinion or conflict causes stress or distraction, too often I see folks grumble but do nothing, because it’s uncomfortable to address.
Yes, it’s wise to stay calm and see if the problem dissipates with time. However, if it doesn’t, avoidance is not a strategy!
Usually, the stress is simmering in plain view—impacting not just those in conflict but also the rest of the team watching. How do you go about communicating in that situation?
First, the logistics
Let the other party know you’d like to discuss the thorny topic so they aren’t blindsided. “I can tell we’ve been grating on each other the last few weeks. Can we get together for lunch tomorrow to figure it out?”
Second, try to understand the drivers. Most conflicts are based on three core drivers: content, process, or relationship.
When preparing for a tough conversation, take time to identify which of these is really the issue, so your proposed solutions address the right problem.
You can also think of those three components from the positive viewpoint of preventing conflict, called the “satisfaction triangle” of working together. To maintain satisfying interactions, you have to attend to all three points of the triangle: content, process, and relationship.
In every partnership, make sure you’re nurturing all three. When making major decisions as an ownership or management team, not only gather the relevant facts and information, but also have a process that gives everyone time to study the information, ask questions, and provide input.
Invest in your relationships. That might mean having a conversation before the meeting with the person you know will be most anxious about it, for example.
While this triangle may sound academic, it’s a practical way to diagnose the knocking sound and design a solution to address the problem.