Why is farming better than any business school?
I would petition to ditch the leadership courses on all executive MBA and replace them with farming 1-on-1 because there isn’t a better leadership training than farming.
But before we start, let me tell you a story about what led me to this agricultural narrative.
I was born and raised on a farm. While my peers were enjoying the seaside, I enjoyed the hay side. And I wanted nothing more in my teens than to ditch the farm life and head to the city. I was waiting to turn 18 and pack my bags and go.
Which never happened.
At the tender age of 17, I met my future husband. He coincidentally had a farm. On our first date, he said to me in all fairness, for which I applauded him: I am not leaving my farm. Therefore, if we are going to be together, there is no other way than for you to come and live with me on the farm.
I am a prime example of the saying: Love is blind because I responded: It’s fine by me.
Still with me? I am getting there.
I always wanted to make something out of myself. And I am a girl of ambitions, and being solely a farm wife was not an option. So I started my corporate journey, leading to my now entrepreneurial path.
Whilst most people speak about juggling work and life balance. Mine was actually adding a third component to it. So I had work, life and a farm balance.
Exhibit A — I was just awarded the Best New Talent Award in 2018 by the Managers Association Slovenia, and the next day, I was shovelling cow manure.
Exhibit B — I got my MBA degree on a Friday night and had a blast at the gala dinner. The next day was driving a tractor full of wood.
But this story isn’t about me or my mishaps. This story is about how this unconventional way of living, Combining and doing both, changed me. Even though our farm sometimes dictates the pace of our life. Nevertheless, farming and doing business makes me think these two components have more in common than we could imagine. Taught me valuable lessons about leadership.
As leaders or more managers is easy to see the leadership role as one of domination and control. We are in charge. Looking at my farm and seeing the seasons change, I see it as a massive leadership metaphor.
Your farm is your company. Your crop is your people.
You farm to grow a crop /plants with a high-quality yield. Then, as a leader, you help grow people to ensure a sustainable and profitable business.
Yet, sometimes we see that people can grow their own way as plants do. And you have different types of plants as people are different.
Living on the farm, or at least you have a garden, you quickly learn that plants have their way of surviving in the wild.
Then you have soil.
Soil, for me, is like business culture. Every farmer knows that healthy soil produces a resilient and higher-yielding crop. And a good farmer works hard to develop healthy soil. Adding organic matter, nutrients and water. In other words, training, values and psychological safety. And you give the soil a much-needed rest every once in a while. Without that, even the most fertile soil eventually becomes bare and dead.
You can call the weather the market.
Pest and diseases (not to name-call anyone, it is just a handy metaphor) well, the pest and disease are your competitors.
The resilience in the soil actually reduces the effects of pests and diseases. It also allows the crops to better weather adverse climatic conditions.
Developing the soil/people is vital for long-term growth and prosperity, the same as the culture of the business.
Next time remember as a leader that leads as a farmer:
- Get your hands dirty
- Remove weeds and rocks
- Leave plants alone.
- Don’t blame the plants for not growing big or fast enough.
- You can’t control the weather, but you can be prepared for it.
- Remember, you will have good and bad seasons.
- Store for better days.
You are never born a farmer. You become one. As a leader, you are never born. You become one.
