Transcript
Speaker: And so as I navigated that right and grew into those roles, it was about working with people to deliver those products. They have to see that you're investing in that relationship too and listening.
Speaker: We live in a world of constant pings and buzzes and distractions. Every role requires relationships. Some of us just are the ones tasked with navigating them. if you will. but um It's okay that different people communicate differently.
Speaker: Understand, you know, in the role of being relationship manager or somebody that works in that space, your job is to meet people where they're at.
Speaker: Some of my best friends are started as, you know, work relationships, professional relationships.
Speaker: Welcome to the Cultivating Leaders podcast. I'm your host and Curiosity Captain, Nicole Urcig. If you are ready to lead better, think bigger, and grow faster, you're in the right place. We bring you real conversations with top leaders across food and agriculture, focused on the practical skills and mindsets you need to lead in today's environment.
Speaker: Young professionals are often told to network, meet more people, and build their contact lists. But a long list of connections is not the same thing as having relationships built on trust. Our guest today has built a career that depends on bringing people together across organizations, interests, and perspectives. Joining us today is Chase DeCoyt, Senior Vice President of Food Industry Relations at the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. And bonus, he is an AFA alumni.
Speaker: In his role, Chase works across the food and dairy value chain, bringing together farmers, cooperatives, processors, customers, and industry leaders around shared priorities. His work depends on the ability to listen, build trust, and create meaningful connections across organizations and perspectives. If you have been struggling to build genuine professional relationships, this episode is for you.
Speaker: We are talking about what it takes to build professional relationships that are both genuine and strategic and why the relationships you cultivate may shape your career in ways you cannot predict. Chase, welcome to the pod.
Speaker: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. Excited to be here, excited to share perspectives and to to just talk about relationships. Love it. That's so great. So Chase, what did I miss from your bio? There's a lot of great things in there, but maybe what's something that people wouldn't find if they looked you up on LinkedIn?
Speaker: Oh man. Well, you know, I didn't start as an ag kid, right? I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and just kind of found my way into this world. But, you know, love the passion, love all of that. So, so you won't find that I could, probably talk you know some surfer dude, as well as you know some dairy cows.
Speaker: and And it's a fun way to to live for sure. It gives you a lot of different perspective of of all of the different facets ah facets of our society for sure. Absolutely. So if you don't come from agriculture, how did you find your way into the dairy industry?
Speaker: Yeah, so I think I fell into this as a lot of of urban kids or increasingly more urban kids do. They've got a love for animals. They're interested in becoming a veterinarian.
Speaker: It seems to be a tale as old as time at this point, but definitely started my my journey wanting to become a veterinarian and quickly fell in love with cows. My first quarter at UC Davis, I took a hands-on beef course, working directly with our beef unit, working with beef cattle, and just didn't turn back. And that was What excited me and learning about all those different career opportunities excited me. And so it was about, the animals, it was about. the way of life. And ultimately, you know, what sucked me into that was the culture, the ability to work together and have a common, you know, foundation of values and interests and ultimately for the goal of feeding people. And that really excited me. And so just kind of followed, followed my way as things fell into place and and wouldn't change it for the world. Absolutely. I think that's a story that many people can relate to because same, I grew up around agriculture, but didn't come from background in it. And cows, man, what is it about them? They'll get you hooked. Yeah. You know, my, my family kind of chuckles. My mom grew up on a dairy farm, actually the last dairy farm in the South Bay area. And, and when I got back into it, you know, my great grandfather and and my aunts and uncles were like, what happened?
Speaker: we got out of this so that you didn't have to do this. Why are why are you doing this? But really, you know it's funny how things come full circle. So we're all just a couple of degrees of separation away from possibly you know the farm, but you know it wasn't the the lifestyle that I was brought up with, but certainly what I have a ton of respect and value for.
Speaker: So you started, i think, more with the technical side of animal agriculture, especially in in the pursuit of potentially being a vet. And now you spend your career building relationships. So when did you realize that relationships matter just as much, if sometimes not more, than the expertise part of things?
Speaker: Yeah, you know, it even early in my career, i started very closely to a lot of ah technical science and and building resources and educational materials. And it wasn't too long before, you know, you realize that you can build the greatest tool, the greatest resource, but you have to build the trust with your audience, with your colleagues, with your peers, and with any of those that might be within the value chain or within the community that you're working with in order for those tools to to be useful. Right. And then to also design and understand that what you're building and your work product needs to be meaningful to the audience. And so as I navigated that, right. And grew into those roles, it was about working with people to deliver those products, right. It was working with producers. It was working with peers and scientists and, and understanding that everybody has possibly a different way of doing things. But usually we have shared priorities, right? And so finding that there's more that make us alike than different and then instilling that in your work. So, you know, it's sometimes I think it's overused when people say it's not what you know, it's who you know. Yes, you certainly have to have some grounding in reality of the space of which you're working with. But never undervalue who you know and understanding that they may show up in ways throughout your career, throughout your life even, that are wholly unexpected.
Speaker: And so once you kind of realize that it's about understanding people, and truly relationships are not just about like, you know, the count on your LinkedIn or, you know, aging myself, your your MySpace top eight or whatever that might be. It's about understanding what drives people, what motivates them, and then instilling that so that collectively you can work together and build the best result for whatever outcome you're seeking.
Speaker: Do you have an example as you look back on your career of ah when did you have that realization of like this person or this relationship or, hey, i I maybe even messed up and realized like, oh, I didn't understand where they were coming from. Like, how did you how did you learn that that way of working and and have that realization of how important the people and relationship aspect is? Throughout my career um and early on, I'd say probably three to five years in,
Speaker: We were building a tool back when I worked for the beef industry before working for dairy. We were building a tool for feed yard operators to implement and for the industry to leverage.
Speaker: um But we were working as an industry, right? So it needed to be agnostic of management style, of ah geography, of of all of those different things, but still be effective, right?
Speaker: that took a lot of listening. And because when you're working on behalf of industry, like I have done my entire career, I've always been in the trade association or Chekhov space. So I've been working for the totality of of industries.
Speaker: um
Speaker: When you're doing that, you have to earn the trust of the people that you're ultimately going to potentially impact right and to do that you need to listen and it took so much time and and even you know nicole we were on the road for weeks going and visiting different things not because we didn't understand their farms their ranches etc but because we also needed to
Speaker: listen to them and build that trust so that ultimately, as those tools came to life, they weren't just supportive, but they were advocates because they trusted the process, they trusted the people.
Speaker: um And that was all about relationships. Very little of that had to ultimately changed the outcome of the specifics of what we built.
Speaker: it was all about working with the people and building their trust so that when that was ready for launch, they were a voice saying that this is the right thing for the industry, right?
Speaker: So um that's that takes a lot of time and never underestimate. I always tell my colleagues, when you have a timeline for a project, you have to build in the time to build the trust before you you deliver, right? Because all it takes is one key stakeholder, one vocal piece of opposition to tear down sometimes your months or years of work, right?
Speaker: You have to have the people that trust you that are going to lend their voice when you need it. Absolutely. you have to bring them along on the journey, right? Like, even if you know what the, like, it's almost like you have to go through the entire movie to get to the satisfaction at the end, even if you know what the ending is going to be, because it's like, they haven't seen, they haven't been on the journey. They haven't seen all the things that need need to go into it. um But I think it's so much easier said than done. And I love your comment on building
Speaker: ah Building in the time to build the trust, because i think that is probably something that many professionals are, and and the one, from a young professional standpoint, can be really hard to learn, right? Of like, you know what the answer is you want to present it to the stakeholders and get a check yes and move on. um But is the most critical piece, especially when you're trying to make institutional industry or or just any type of of real change.
Speaker: Definitely. It's, um you know, I think we live in a society that is driven by short term goals and incentives. um And in my personal opinion, to a fault, right? when When we're driving to that, you might be able to check the box for a quarterly report or a year end report.
Speaker: But to me, that doesn't matter if in the next month after that report or your results are posted. it doesn't matter or it it failed or whatever could happen because you didn't put the time. So I'm always cognizant of like, what is going to make a lasting impact, right? What, how can we leverage our relationships, leverage our networks, our stakeholders, so that we're not just implementing results for today, but we're implementing results for, you know, the future.
Speaker: And that that takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of nuance and a lot of understanding of who you're your audience and working with them.
Speaker: So... Yeah, absolutely. I think that's good advice too. I think so many, especially leaders, struggle with the pace. Like you want to move quickly and knowing that like you want to move quickly, but I love what you said about lasting change because like you can get something done and check the box and send out the report or or launch the product or whatever it is. But if it's a flash in the pan, like are you really making the difference that you want to be making with the work that you're doing? And so I think it can, that perspective, at least for me, as I'm thinking about what you werere saying, can help alleviate some of the pain ah that the process of building trust can can can create, right? Especially when you're pressured for time.
Speaker: And you've got to be open to changing course. um When you're getting feedback, people will recognize whether you're listening or not.
Speaker: ah Because... That trust compounds, right? it It's in little actions that are reoccurring that builds that trust.
Speaker: And if you're constantly not implementing or not listening to their feedback, their thoughts, their perspectives, they'll notice that in the outcomes. Right. And, and not to say you have to take everything that every one of your stakeholders says every single time to heart.
Speaker: Um, but if you're never listening or if they are in agreement, but you're in disagreement with, with them, you know, it could be all for naught, right? like you You've got to, they have to see that you're investing in that relationship too and listening.
Speaker: Um, it it's,
Speaker: Relationships are an outcome of experiences. They're not a goal. Like there's not a goal in in my work to build XYZ number of relationships, right?
Speaker: It's about developing, growing, and learning from those relationships. It's it's a two-way street, right? you're Which can sometimes be hard when you know My role is industry relations, so it often is just because that's my title, it feels like sometimes people are like, oh, it's one way, like that's the relationship guy, right?
Speaker: But they also come to you when they they are looking for something, right? And whether you're the right person or not, you need to know where to point them to, and and and that will be the trust that is built. It's also incredibly important to say when you don't know.
Speaker: um You can build a ton of trust. Some of the most trust that i have for other people is when they point blank tell me I'm not the person, right? Like I've got a team. I have other people that that do that.
Speaker: um And so don't be shy to try to answer everything or be everything for everyone. um Be yourself, be authentic and then also be honest.
Speaker: ah How do you keep, especially in a role like you're in, right, when you're managing industry relationships for an organization, how do you keep it from feeling transactional? And truly, this is relational um because part of that is your job, right? Like there is a transaction to some of these relationships in order for us to get work done. But how do you maintain that balance of let's work together, let's get work done, let's find where there's opportunities for partnerships, but also truly build an authentic relationship with people?
Speaker: Yeah, ah and and I think one of the trickiest parts about that is in order for it not to feel or be transactional, you have to put in the extra time, if you will, that goes beyond what I call the walls of work, right? When you're at a conference, there are sessions.
Speaker: when you're When you're in my role, you can be in but then you're not talking to people and that's that's fine. You shouldn't be building relationships by interrupting those interactions. But you do have to understand that where your role comes into play or where my role comes into play is listening to people in the hallway, talking to them and understanding how they're reacting to, know,
Speaker: Andrew Williamsburg Regional Library, The Environment and how they're reacting what is being shared with them and and really just listening oftentimes I don't even have a reaction Andrew Smith, Regional Library, What their perspectives are I haven't even developed my own reaction but i'm listening for how they react and and putting in the time to give them the space to react. It might mean talking to them the next day about something that happened the day before, um, which people often don't revisit what happened. Like we move, you know, again, we move so fast, we're onto the next thing, but it's like, oftentimes they thought of something or something happened, you know, as they went back, um, to their room or, um you know, after a a virtual meeting or something like that,
Speaker: something transpired or they had a light bulb moment or they had a thought that nobody's ever followed up with them to listen to. Right. And so it's taking that action to say, do you have thoughts? Right. Or, or was there something that occurred? And so, um, it's being thoughtful in, um, how you listen and following up.
Speaker: that can make things less transactional and treating people as people, not roles, right? people can People can sense when you're just talking to them because they have a title somewhere or sense when they're um
Speaker: when you only come to them because there's an upcoming deadline or, um, when you only come to them because you know, they're needed and they know they're needed to get something across the finish line.
Speaker: Like I said, you know, that, that relationships are built through compounding trust. but they can also be eroded through compounding events that are just transactional.
Speaker: So you have to balance, you know, your needs. They also have goals, right? Like they're there. They also have transactions that need to be made as a part of those relationships, but it has to be weaved with also being a human, right? So we have a shared experience. We have all of that.
Speaker: Um, and, and it goes back to your authenticity and, and, to To just listen to people over time, you will understand them.
Speaker: You will understand what drives them. And then you come back to them when you can understand those passions and start placing them in the places where they're excited to be. um And so when you're doing that, that's meaningful.
Speaker: They see it, they feel it, and they feel valued. Absolutely. i One of the things i hear you saying, Chase, is ah listening to people well. And I think in order to listen well, do you you probably have to be able to ask good questions as well. Like there has to be a genuine curiosity about the person sitting across from you or the person on the other side of the relationship.
Speaker: Yeah. i You have to be able to ask questions, but you also have to to sense people, right? Some people will just talk.
Speaker: And if they're just talking and spilling the beans, don't interrupt them. Use it as the time to learn, right? Absorb that. Like I will sit at tables sometimes and people just, there it'll be a table of eight people. And there's one person that just says it all.
Speaker: Well, there's two roles that I can play there. One, learn from that person. But then i also try to take what they're saying and engage other people to also ask the questions, right? Because the way other people ask questions also is insightful.
Speaker: And so using that, those opportunities of dialogue um to gain perspective.
Speaker: And i think some people like to think about what questions they'll have for people really deeply. Like some people will literally have like their script of questions that they almost ask every conversation.
Speaker: um
Speaker: my My method is more conversational in nature. I wanna build questions off of what they're already talking about. And we will get and learn more as a part of that, but then it doesn't seem like Oh, I got what I needed out of that question. So I'm just going ask my next question, right? They might still have more there that we we need to go deeper on. And so um it is important to ask relevant questions, but I caution, don't ask questions for questions sake, right?
Speaker: So um make sure they're relevant, make sure they're, you know, And they can evolve as you build a relationship with somebody, right? They can, you can dig on past conversations. You can go to all of that experiences, et cetera.
Speaker: Um, but to make people feel like it's more than a transaction,
Speaker: don't just, just have canned canned questions um about what you're you're seeking, right? So dig, think critically as you're listening as to pieces of information that you need or want to know more about.
Speaker: And you build a skill of thinking of questions on the fly, right? And that's tough. And and I understand early and mid career, like that that can be,
Speaker: tough because you don't want to seem ill-prepared. um Sometimes you feel like it's your one shot to impress. like There's all of those factors.
Speaker: um
Speaker: But realizing when your early career careers are long and um
Speaker: you will have many opportunities to impress And in my opinion, the best ways to impress is to be authentic because then in your authenticity, you're going to find career paths that best suit your skillset, best suit your passions, and also help people realize what your strengths are. And they're going to, you know, as you build relationships, people are going to seek you out for that value, that unique value that you bring.
Speaker: So be authentic. be curious, but most importantly, that starts with listening. And that was hard for me. I was not always a listener to start my career, right? Like I was eager, i was excited.
Speaker: Um, you know,
Speaker: i had, I had managers that empowered me and that was also important and made me feel like I was worthy of voicing my opinion. Um,
Speaker: But
Speaker: for some of us, it's hard to sit on our hands. And then for others, you need to grow the confidence to speak up. So it is a balance, right? Like there are people that don't say anything.
Speaker: Um, and that can also seem mysterious or seem, seem, you know, off putting hard to connect with. Yeah. Just, just, uh,
Speaker: It's a skill that builds over time. Yeah. I think that's good advice too, because I think it's something, um at least can say, I'm always continuing to grow at. like It's not something that I'm sure is ever quite perfected, but especially for anyone who's young in their career, like it's a journey and you're probably not going to be great at it out of the gate and giving yourself some grace too. to learn and to grow in that space of whether you're the really chatty person or the one who's intimidated to speak up at the table, giving yourself, putting yourself in this situation and giving yourself a chance to, to grow that muscle over time.
Speaker: I think the other thing I'm curious, Chase, it's, What I hear you saying in terms of like being curious and being a good listener and really engaging with the person across from you, i don't know if that's possible without truly being present in the moment.
Speaker: And I'm curious your thoughts on that because I think that is probably something that, again, whether you have a script of questions or all of us are very distracted these days, I'm curious your thoughts on that because I don't know that I could do what you are saying in terms of truly engaging with another human if you are not fully present in the moment, listening to them, engaging, reacting, and not distracted.
Speaker: It can be hard. Uh, We live in a world of constant pings and buzzes and distractions. And you can go to any conference, you can be on any Zoom or or Teams meeting, and there are people glancing at their phones, their emails, what's coming in.
Speaker: And it's tough to balance because you also have responsibilities that require you to work in real time, it seems like constantly. um But I think the first step is being aware, being aware of the moments when you have to put that down or put it away or or ignore it.
Speaker: um You know, I think you can also gain a lot of clarity and a lot of personal like freedom and realize how many things you can do or think about or process if you are putting aside some of those distractions, which I recognize is really hard.
Speaker: um But don't be afraid to
Speaker: put yourself on do not disturb or to not respond to something right away. um In fact, sometimes your response will be much stronger if you give yourself a moment to comprehend and think thoughtfully about how you respond to something. Now, I don't think you should let things that require one sentence responses pile up because then your to-do list gets so long that then you're overwhelmed and you're daunted and you can, it's very hard to dig yourself out.
Speaker: But recognizing when something could benefit from you being thoughtful, don't be afraid to put that aside. and you know As I've grown in in my career, I've recognized like I don't want my team or my peers or my colleagues to always respond to something right away.
Speaker: That's also in understanding people. Some people feel there needs to be a response to everything, and some people, I'm somebody who you know I will respond if I have something thoughtful to respond with. And if I don't, let it lie, right? And if it's somebody who expects a response, I also have no problem saying, i don't have any you know feedback to provide looks good. Like that's that's okay. um But in order for you to focus on the people in front of you, you have to be able to give yourself the permission to put aside the distraction so that you can interact in real
Speaker: um And that's important. um And I think I'm encouraged. I do actually think that, I guess it's Gen Alpha or younger Gen are disconnecting a little bit more. Like, you know, it doesn't feel like they're as driven by having the the Apple Watch or the constant pings. And from what I can tell, they live...
Speaker: ah with their phones on do not disturb 100% of the time, which is just wild to me. But well the fact that even some of them will have like flip phones or dumb phones, yeah, they can leave their ah smart devices to behind. Yeah, they're recognizing they're watching the generation ahead of them and being like, Whoa, I don't want to live that way. Like that's a little aggressive, right? um So kudos to them. I think that there might also be significant change. Like you're seeing
Speaker: ah you know schools and institutions start to even shift back to policies where they're not allowed to have those devices at school and like all of that stuff that almost like evokes back some of the nineties. And it'll be interesting to see how that lasts throughout you know as generations grow, but um give yourself the permission to put aside the distraction.
Speaker: Um, because when, if you're in a role that relies on relationships or which I should say every role. I was going to say, yeah. Requires relationships. Uh, some of us just are the ones tasked with navigating them, if you will. Um, Some roles are more relational than others, yes but every role relies on relationships. And some of us are are here to just be sounding boards, which is a lot of my role, which is like, you know, when somebody is frustrated by something else, they'll come to me and I, you know, I have to be trusted with that. I will place that in the right way. That's fine. um
Speaker: But put aside the distraction, interact with people for people, because that's, you know, likely more important than what you'd be interacting with on your phone.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely. So the flip side of that, when you have been in an event or you meet someone or you're getting to know someone, where does the digital communication come in as helpful either in follow-up or maintaining relationships?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Live in ah in a virtual world, right? So um
Speaker: I'd say 80% my interactions, to my interactions are over digital means, um virtual meetings, Zoom calls, etc.
Speaker: um When following up with people, like to meet them where they are at, which sometimes is different by generation, by geography.
Speaker: i have relationships that I maintain almost solely through text message because it's the way that they reach me. and They have indicated that it's fine. They prefer it. They're faster to respond. It's more casual. And so I can often get quicker responses. But then if it's something that needs to shift to become more formal or documented, like I'm shifting that conversation with, great, thanks for responding.
Speaker: I'll shoot you an email. And then following that with you know a more structured you know formal chain, something where there's attachments, et cetera, that we can we can deliver on. um but generally you know if it's a completely new relationship i've never had before i'm following up if it requires it if there's something that is meaningful there um through a quick email great to meet you feel free to reach out if there's anything i can do or if you want to have a follow-up to learn more about what we're doing would be great to connect um simple as that sometimes i get a response
Speaker: ah and it turns into a really robust relationship. Sometimes it lies for 18 months and then you get a random email and they remembered who you were and there's something that they need um from us and you were in their inbox, they found you, it's there.
Speaker: um you know I think there's there's different methods, But certainly you don't have to follow up with everybody. But if you did commit to a follow up or you did say that you were going to send something to somebody, figure out the method of reminders that you like.
Speaker: Personally, i send myself a text message. Like I have a text thread with myself going and I only use it for the things I e know I'm going to forget. And the one of the reasons that I know I'm going to forget them is this to some people who are like, Oh, you're in industry relations. How could you forget people?
Speaker: I always forget people's names, right? Like there's especially first time I can place them for who they are. I can try to find them. I'm constantly surfing through like, you know, conference attendee list to be like, what was their name? Right. So shooting myself a text to say this, and then what I was going to follow up with that,
Speaker: when I go in that text and and I leave it on unread and it's the only text message that I leave on unread, which, you know, some people have 700, my mother, I don't know how she lives that way. And I have zero, like, right. If if there's a red dot, something needs to happen.
Speaker: um So figure out your method, but do follow up if you indicated you were going to do so. um Or if they dropped a hint, right. of Like follow up with me. Let's,
Speaker: you know figure something out take advantage of that right don't um you always take the meeting you want to hear what they have to say where there's opportunities for collaboration etc um so so definitely um meet them where they're at understand um how different people communicate we all communicate differently um and to my millennial peers don't take it too offensively when people's emails are like short right like yes period is is okay um it can be generational it'll be all right uh i get anxiety about it as well but it's like it's okay that different people communicate differently
Speaker: um and so understand you know in the role of being a relationship manager or somebody that works in that space, your job is to meet people where they're at. So understand that and be flexible.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely. For someone who's, uh, professional relationships are your job. I am curious. And we've talked a lot about authenticity and being very present and like making relationships that are real.
Speaker: What is your thoughts, Chase, on where like making friends at work? And I say work, but like industry relations. like Help me understand from your perspective, where is there or is there like that personal professional boundary? And do some of these relationships evolve from professional relationships to personal relationships?
Speaker: Some of my best friends are are started as you know work relationships, professional relationships. um I think that those are incredibly important and often your most valuable relationships because those people, especially as you start to move jobs and change career paths and and people go in different places, those are the people you return to that have nothing to gain from that relationship.
Speaker: but always have your back. And that is unique. You probably don't have a million of those unless you're you know a unique person.
Speaker: But for me, they serve a really important role. And that is what I call like my release valve, right?
Speaker: They understand your industry. They understand your career enough that you can talk to them about different stressors you might be having, et cetera. And they can be there to listen sometimes to reassure you, or they can be there to, you know, tell you that, you know, probably wasn't and a good idea anyways, or whatever you need to hear. Um,
Speaker: but they're that release valve and if stress can build and compound and if you don't have that release valve that can be hard so like you know my wife and i don't share career spaces she works in healthcare i work in agriculture you know i work in dairy in full transparency the other day she came home with like an oat milk creamer or she ordered it from the grocery store. She didn't come home with it. I actually picked it up because it was ordered and I was putting groceries away and I was like, ah wow, excuse me, what is this? um
Speaker: Not allowed. so So when we talk about work stuff, like it doesn't resonate necessarily, but I have peers that I've built throughout my career. So she's not like that release valve that I have to go to, to be like, oh, this happened at work, right?
Speaker: She will sympathize with me, but and I will with her, but for the nuances of like understanding why that mattered, building those relationships that transcend the transactional and, you know, business-minded atmosphere are really important.
Speaker: And those people you will cross paths with. It's where you will earn career opportunities, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It goes all the way back to the the beginning of this conversation where we talked about you know, relationships versus technical expertise and understanding, you know, that balance and and why relationships matter so much, it'll matter throughout your whole career. And you will run into people and be like, oh, didn't expect to see you in that role. And now you matter, right? Or, and so be careful, you're going to have that influence.
Speaker: um There's probably some people that You know, I'd go back to my early twenties and be like, I'm going to be nicer to you because I didn't know you were going to show up later on, but you did. Um, and then there's many, you know, that, that you look back and you're like, you know, they were challenging, but they also had a unique skillset. And like, I'm going to go back to them because they were really good at what their job was. And now I need that skillset.
Speaker: So how can i go back to that person and, Are there roles that they can help with? Are there functions? are Are they a contractor? Like, what does that, what happens because of that?
Speaker: It's really, it's really cool to see. Um, and I'll be on like, I'm not even probably halfway through my career. That would be nice though, if I only had another 10 to 15 years. Um, goes back to your career.
Speaker: and So to see those things already transpiring, you know, 15 years, 12, 15 years into this, I can only imagine like what that's going to look like, you know, down the road.
Speaker: Yeah. I ah agree with you. That is advice I would go back and tell my younger self of just like, people are going to boomerang. Like you think maybe you're going to see them once or meet them once or work with them once. But no, especially in this industry. was to say, especially in agriculture, they're everywhere and you will see them always.
Speaker: Yes, absolutely. Well, and I think maybe even this conversation is a good example of that, right, Chase? Because you're an AFA alumni, which is AFA is something you chose to do in college. And all of a sudden now, you know several years later, it's like, hey, let's come back and have a conversation again because of where you are in your career. And now let's give advice to others. So it's ah relationships and and even experiences, I feel like, in agriculture and careers are very circular. um that You never know when someone might pop back up again, or you may want them to throughout your career. 100%. you know, AFA was such an awesome development opportunity in college. And I watch, I track engagement opportunities. I don't take advantage of all of them for sure.
Speaker: Others should do that more. But... but for that fact of like boomerang it still matters so like you know to the afa team and to those people that work on and to those college folks like
Speaker: i still recognize and really appreciate the role of afa for what it is at different points in careers and the different offerings and so to the point of relationships like maintaining those and coming back to them is important because
Speaker: you don't know where people are at like with their own lives. Sure. I would love to like, you know, go to an AFA happy hour in DC, which is close by to where I am. Like when they have those, but I've got like two kids, a family, et cetera. There might be a time like 10 years down the road where I'm like, oh yeah. Like I don't need to make sure dinner's on the table. I'll be there and like connect with another, you know, uh, young and up and coming. It might be somebody that builds out, you know, staff or things like that in the future. So,
Speaker: you never know the impact you're making in those small things that build over time um and and that's all because the relationships and the relationships married with the content and the programming is important Chase, I could keep asking questions ah for much longer than the time that we have. I do want to move into a segment we like to do called Rapid Fire, where I ask questions you try to them in one sentence or less. You try to answer them as quickly as you can, and I do my best to ask a follow-up questions. Let's do Rapid Fire. When making new connection, see you again on the next message, email, or
Speaker: they are and I want to know the role that they have and that they play. But rarely, i i don't like messaging on LinkedIn because I get too many like sales and weird pitches on there. So if I know or have a connection to them, I will find their real email and I will send an actual email. So LinkedIn to connect and keep it as like the Rolodex and understand who they are, actual email to communicate with them.
Speaker: Awesome. What's your biggest networking pet peeve? Ooh,
Speaker: probably collecting business cards. So, you know, they're just, they're not needed in today's world.
Speaker: um Hot take, my opinion. And I think that networking is possibly, in my opinion,
Speaker: overrated because it it gives this like thought that you need to collect. like You need to go out there and it's like catching Pokemon, right? like How many people can you meet? Who's going to be at that networking reception?
Speaker: um
Speaker: Best thing I like about networking events is observing who's talking to who, ah who has other relationships. like That's where I can learn a lot about who's connected with who, who influences who,
Speaker: and who everybody is trying to either influence or get to know.
Speaker: I like it. ah What is one person everyone needs in their professional circle? We talked about it earlier in regards to those relationships that transcend the professional into like your social life.
Speaker: I think everybody needs a friend that started as a colleague.
Speaker: um And what is one follow-up habit everyone should steal?
Speaker: Follow-up habit they should steal? To actually do it? Yeah.
Speaker: That's a good one, honestly, Chase. To do it and to not be offended if you don't get a response from it. Like you will someday. Don't worry about it. Good one. Okay. ah Chase, the other thing we love at AFA is hot takes. So unconventional opinions, bold, bold opinions. And so we always ask our guests for what is a hot take that you have either either on leadership or agriculture, or you can specifically make yours about relationship and networking since that's what we've talked about.
Speaker: Yeah. I mean, when I think of, of AFA in this podcast, it's about leaders, right? and i think we have a way of over romanticizing what a leader is whether it's based off of their title whether it's based off of their you know perceived career success etc but a reminder that every leader is also a human they struggle with the same things that everyone else does in regards to balancing life and work in regards to decisions for them are also tough to make. Right.
Speaker: So. Once you start thinking of people that you look up to as leaders, as people, you can interact with them and build relationships with them that you learn from because you can you interact with them as a human, not as a function.
Speaker: um And the best leaders are the ones that really just, it's not about what their role is or the decisions or the direction, but about the environment they create where the people around them are using their best skill sets and that they can succeed.
Speaker: So I find that leaders are less, the the best leaders are less about their own accomplishments and about the accomplishments of the team and those that orbit them.
Speaker: So, they are people, relate to them as people, and they're loss if they want to pretend that they're something else.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Amen. Such a good, what a wonderful way to wrap up this conversation, Chase. That was, a love it. That was great. um So thank you so much. At AFA, you know, we are all about building bridges, connecting people and ideas and opportunities across agriculture. So where can listeners connect more with you and learn more about the work that is happening at the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy?
Speaker: ah LinkedIn, right? it's It's, you can find me, feel free to add me. shoot me a message. I will respond as long as it's authentic. um And follow the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy as well on LinkedIn. You can also go to our website, innovationcenter.dairy.org,
Speaker: and you'll find us there. And yeah, hopefully we'll see you around. If you know me, if you've watched this podcast and you want to connect in person and I'm at an event, don't be shy. Happy to to talk to you. And if you're lucky, grab a drink at a reception.
Speaker: Awesome. Thank you so much, Chase. This has been a wonderful conversation. i have thoroughly enjoyed. i have new nuggets for myself and i'm I'm sure our listeners do as well. So I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with us today and joining us on the Cultivating Leaders podcast. Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity.
Speaker: Want to hear more from Chase? Join us on September 23rd at noon central for our next Cultivating Leaders webinar. We are sitting down with Chase and our other upcoming guests to dive into their career journeys, which began with a connection made at AFA Experiences as a college student. Visit the link in the episode description to register.
Speaker: Thanks for listening to the Cultivating Leaders podcast, where leaders grow. If this episode challenged your thinking, be sure to share it with someone else who is on a similar leadership journey. You can stay connected with the Cultivating Leaders podcast by following AgFutureAmerica on social media or drop a comment in the episode description. We'll see you again on the next episode.
