When you think of examples of excellent leaders, who comes to mind? You might first recall historical figures, certain business leaders or people closer to home.

But what do the best leaders often have in common? It might not necessarily be an obvious advantage or even very visible at all.

Ask the right questions

I believe that the best leaders in business – including top farm leaders – intentionally work on a particular area that’s very important to their business: the leaders focus on improving their own skills.

You might think of examples of people who do this well right in your own family or community. Maybe your closest mentors had this focus – perhaps an older generation on the farm you worked with or learned from.

These people tend to be more successful over the long haul. It’s not because they necessarily start out with special skill or talent. They’re just diligent in asking the right questions. They want to work on themselves and their own skills as a manager so they can make their farm business more successful. They ask others what they can do to improve.

Rather than looking to outside circumstances or factors that may be out of their control as what will ultimately determine the operation’s success, they’re asking questions like: How can I get better? What can I focus on to improve my skills in the areas that are most critical for the success of our farm business?

Take three steps

There are three steps you can take to do this for yourself and your operation:

It may be helpful to have a coach or advisor to guide and bring additional accountability to your plan for skill growth. They can serve as a resource as you up your management game. Consider working with someone who specializes in advising farm leaders as you build your plan this summer.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures orFarm Progress.