As we approach Labor Day here in the United States, I have been thinking a bit about those with whom I labor - your NAFDMA staff team.  We are honestly a great team, who truly enjoy our jobs and supporting the agritourism industry.

Meet Grace

In this photo, the 4 of us had the opportunity to connect with a new friend, Grace.  She is the beautiful grey and white horse, who taught us some valuable lessons.  While we were in Lexington preparing for our 2025 Convention, the NAFDMA team had an afternoon at the Kentucky Equine Adoption Center.  They not only foster horses who are in need of a new home, but they provide team building activities as well.

Our Challenge

We were tasked with creating our own obstacle course for Grace to traverse, and then convincing a reticent Grace to follow our lead through the course - without talking to each other or touching the horse!!  Using the materials we had on hand, we designed a course with about 5 different skills for Grace.  These included moving around barrels, stepping over a low beam, walking between two poles, etc.  We were told we could use anything in the arena to accomplish our goal.

Communication

If anyone has ever tried to work as a team to move a horse (when you have little-to-no training in horses), you know that our task turned out to be fully dependent on the willingness of Grace to feel comfortable and move anywhere near the path we chose for her.  Not being able to talk with each other proved VERY difficult and Grace wanted to have fun on her terms - not ours.  We eventually lucked into Grace completing most of the tasks, but I think it had little to do with anything we did to convince her or guide her.

Lessons Learned

Debriefing after the fun, we discussed a few different lessons we learned about our teamwork.  WE were the ones who set up the obstacle course.  We chose the length and difficulty - no parameters were required of us by the Center staff.  We were the ones who chose the goal, and we could adjust the goal at any time or decide when the goal was actually completed.  In life, do we choose the more difficult path for ourselves?  Or can we accomplish a similar goal with less effort?  In addition, we were told we could use anything in the arena to help us reach our goal - which the staff pointed out included them (the experts in horses!)  Are there times in our lives when we try to figure things out on our own, only to have an expert at our disposal, if only we ask? 

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

For your NAFDMA staff, there were plenty of other lessons from that day also, but that would require me to be here typing all day.  Suffice it to say, we learned a great deal about not just "dreaming" a great team into place, but using our resources to "work" at teamwork, while having fun and exploring a different aspect of agriculture.  What have you done recently to learn and "work" with your team?