Why this matters now
Spring pressure is building, and the temptation to “just fill the seat” is real. How you interview, hire, and onboard right now will directly impact your team’s performance, morale, and retention during your busiest season. Strong hiring is about building a team that can carry your operation forward.
Quick Win of the Month
Lead the Interview the Way You Lead Your Operation
Too many ag leaders show up to interviews unprepared, rushing between tasks, or treating it like just another box to check, but the interview itself is your first chance to demonstrate what working for you will actually be like.
Show up on time with prepared questions. Ask about how they solved a real challenge rather than hypothetical questions. Smile, make eye contact, and listen carefully.
When you're understaffed and desperate to fill a role, it's easy to rush through interviews. But candidates are making decisions about you too. They're asking themselves: "Is this the kind of place I want to work? Is this the kind of leader I want to work for?"
How you show up to the interview answers those two questions before you even extend an offer. It sets the tone for everything that follows and impacts how your new employee chooses to show up for work.
Try this today: Before your next interview, write down three specific behaviors you expect from employees (e.g., punctuality, preparation, ownership) and make sure you model each one during the conversation.
Featured Article
The Hiring Process Doesn’t End When You Say “You’re Hired”
You've spent weeks finding the right candidate, conducted multiple interviews, and finally made your hiring decision. Check the box, right? Not so fast. The moment you extend that job offer isn't the end of the recruiting process—it's the beginning of building a relationship with your new employee.
What happens between "you're hired" and their first day of work can make or break their engagement, productivity, and decision to stay long-term. In this week's blog, we're sharing practical steps you can take right now to turn your hiring process into a retention strategy, starting with how you deliver that job offer.
Bottom line: Hiring is the first step in retention, and how you handle the days between “yes” and day one will shape your new hire’s commitment, confidence, and long-term performance.
Virtual Course
Hire With Confidence This Spring: A Practical Framework for Better Interviewing
Spring is a busy season – and you need the right people in place to handle it. But rushed hiring decisions can cost you far more than time and money. They impact your entire team's performance and morale.
Our Effective Interviewing Self-Guided Course gives you a proven framework to hire with confidence:
Cut through the noise – Focus on the interview steps that actually predict success, not just what sounds good
Ask questions that reveal the truth – Learn what to ask (and what to avoid) to uncover real capabilities, not rehearsed answers
Read between the lines – Develop your ability to listen critically and dig deeper when responses raise flags
Set new hires up to win – Start the relationship strong with an onboarding approach that accelerates performance
You'll walk away with practical tools and specific actions you can use immediately, improving not just your hiring outcomes, but also how your current team engages in the process.
Special offer: Enroll by March 31, 2026, and save 20% with code AgLeaders.
Resource Spotlight
Hiring and interviewing are critical moments, yet many agricultural leaders struggle to turn good intentions into consistent, effective decisions. The resources below offer practical tools to help you hire smarter, structure stronger interviews, and build a repeatable process that saves time, reduces costly mis-hires, and strengthens your leadership pipeline for the future.
Podcast: Interviewing Resources (Releasing on 2/24)
One question to leave you with:
If a candidate judged your leadership based solely on how you show up during the interview process, what would they conclude about working for you?