Michelle Leal (Agribusiness)

“Which of the 8 Cultural Practices are you already practicing?” (Please tell us how.)
In my current role as Customer Support, I am already practicing people development by constant training and check-ins with the new additions to my team. I have an open forum when it comes to my knowledge and time with coworkers. If they need help with something they are tackling I will shadow in and work through their issue with them only offering guidance when needed, or if I am working on something they haven’t seen yet I will let them shadow me, and ask questions along the way. With that, I feel like continuous improvement plays a big part in how I approach people development because by working through training scenarios and constant communication we are always evolving as a team and individually.
I take a lot of personal accountability for my actions in my role. I am not afraid to speak up if I have made a mistake. No one would learn or progress without failures to improve from, with the structure of my supportive leadership team there is the ability for my group to function with all of the cultural pillars and practices in mind already.
There is not a part of me that is fearsome or leary to practice any of these pillars in lue of repercussion.

“Looking to the future, which of the 8 Practices do you think are most important – and why?
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I think that empowering the people we already have should be the main focus. Retention of the right employees is key to keeping teams, and organizations running optimally. By empowering the people, operating with excellence will trickle into play because you have built the dream teams by fostering trust and support within the employee groups. Customer care and focus improve when employees feel safe and appreciated, they are willing to learn more and apply themselves a little bit harder than if they don’t feel like this is the company that wants them.