Let me tell you about a woman I recently worked with at a seed company much like yours. I’ll call her Maya.
At Maya’s company, everyone knew the plan for the coming season … because it was the plan for every season. It was safe, familiar, and defended by the loudest voices at the table.
Maya wasn’t convinced. Growers were asking questions the company wasn’t answering well. Maya suspected their needs were changing, and the company’s programs weren’t keeping pace.
She could have stayed quiet. Senior leaders had already made up their minds, and the easiest path was a nod and a “sounds good.” Instead, she spoke up.
“I think we are missing something the growers are saying,” she said.
I saw a couple of rolled eyes. Someone started texting. Then someone else shushed her.
Let me tell you: I sit in a ton of meetings across the industry and there’s nothing I hate more than a shush. It’s disrespectful, it shuts people down, and I’ve seen it kill conversations companies desperately needed to have.
Since I was facilitating, I stopped the meeting and gave Maya the floor.
She explained that growers were asking for things the company wasn’t delivering. The sales team knew it, but those concerns weren’t reaching the annual plan.
Then she asked a question that sticks with me: “What would we do if we were starting from scratch today?”
That got the conversation moving. Slowly, bumpily at first, the team began examining feedback, gaps in the existing program, and possible changes. By the end of the meeting, they’d agreed to trial some changes. None of that would have happened if Maya had accepted the shush.
Who’s Getting Heard?
We picture courage as a loud, cinematic moment. In business, it’s usually quieter. It’s the person who says, “I’m not sure we’re right” in a culture that rewards certainty.
In my work helping seed companies with strategic planning, I’ve seen leaders ask their teams to be more innovative and willing to challenge the status quo. Then someone raises an uncomfortable question, and the room shuts them down. You can’t ask people to be brave and then punish them for trying.
That’s something I watch when I’m facilitating. Who’s doing all the talking? Who’s holding back? How does the room react when someone disagrees? Sometimes I challenge the person dominating the conversation. Other times, I just need to make sure someone finishes what they were saying.
The best ideas are often already in the room. The challenge is creating an environment where people are willing to share them.
Rally Cry!
When my son was about ten, he gave a presentation to his entire school. Afterward, my wife told him how brave he’d been. He looked confused, then said, “That wasn’t brave. Talking in front of everyone doesn’t make me scared. You have to be scared to be brave.”
There’s plenty to be uncertain about in the seed industry. Companies are restructuring, expectations are changing, and familiar decisions are getting harder. It’s tempting to stick with what has worked. But courage means acting even when you’re afraid of what might happen.
Here’s what I am asking of you:
1) Ask the question you’ve been holding back. Phrase it with curiosity, not accusation, and watch what opens up.
2) Make room for the quiet voices. If you lead a team, notice who’s not speaking. Invite them in. The idea you need may be waiting there.
3) Don’t let “we’ve always done it that way” end the conversation. Respect the history, then ask whether it’s still the best answer. Tradition is a foundation, not a ceiling.
