Our industry is going through a transformation in leadership for the last 12-18 months. We knew it was coming — or at least I expected some of this change, mainly in the form of retirements. However, what I didn’t expect was the leadership turnover from non-retirements: those that have either been let go or those that have thrown in the towel for something different. I don’t blame the mass exits. Maybe it is a simpler life not being on call 24/7, or maybe it is moving to a job where they feel more respected and heard. Whatever the case may be, we are in the midst of a major leadership change.

This change makes me nervous for many reasons, the primary one being lack of knowledge and history of our industry. It seems we may be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I am nervous about history repeating itself, with some food safety and quality mistakes being repeated. Is the new generation of leaders ready for the challenge? Probably yes. But without the proper transition and exchange of history, we may have a problem.

Y’all know this industry is ruthless, and there is very little opportunity for mistakes. We feed people healthy, safe food. We supply people with high protein choices. It is a huge responsibility, and we have to acknowledge all the work and historical know-how it takes to run this type of business. So, how can we avoid this turnover and create more of a historical exchange and leadership development transition?

These younger and more inexperienced leaders often put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed, and to set a precedent. Most younger leaders want to introduce change. This change sometimes comes without thought to the culture of the organization. Good culture is what drives progress and success or, with bad culture, drives people to leave creating a huge historical void. Young leaders can also have an ego that can sidetrack the overall goal of the company. Being right is not always the best strategy in leadership. And finally, younger leadership may not understand the importance of listening skills and can focus a lot more focus on productivity.

All of these attributes can lead to frustration and a sharp exit of long-term executive employees. This mass exit is where I feel like we can improve. This mass exit is creating that historical void, and my nerves are on high alert for history repeating itself. Being a younger leader is hard. But understanding the culture of the company, keeping the ego in check, and remaining open to listening insights of others, especially those with more experience, can improve growth and success of the company and of the leaders.

Let's not allow history to repeat itself and instead focus on the proper transitions, so we don’t lose the knowledge gained over the last few decades.

Change is in the air

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