As a farm leader, whether you’ve been leading the operation for twenty years or two years, you know that there are many decisions that land on your shoulders. Fortunately, it doesn’t need to be every single decision in the operation – and in fact, the operation will run better if there are others who have decision-making power in certain areas.

But there are some decisions that the leader simply can’t delegate – and shouldn’t – because they are major and have high stakes for the farm. For these types of decisions, it can be great to get the insights and opinions of trusted associates or advisors – whether they’re from inside or outside of your operation – before you make a final decision.

Getting another perspective can be eye-opening. Regardless of whether it ultimately changes or alters your decision in any way, the perspective of another person can bring up different elements or ideas that you might not have considered before.

Looking deeper

For farm leaders who want to improve their decision-making process and skills – and ultimately, the decision-making that’s being done in their entire operation – there’s a key first step to take to make that happen.

This step doesn’t involve seeking out information or facts. It doesn’t even necessarily involve any other people or their opinions. The first thing to work on? Knowing yourself better.

Knowing yourself when it comes to decision-making in your operation is the foundation for everything else you can do to help improve the decisions on your farm. There are a few questions to ask yourself to understand your own decision-making tendencies better.

Ask three questions

You can get a trusted advisor’s perspective on today’s commodity markets by getting in touch with our market advisors.