Improving Ranch Leadership

In this episode of the Casual Cattle Conversations, Shaye interviews Tom and Terryn Drieling about ranch leadership on their Nebraska Sandhills ranch, where Tom has served as a ranch manager for about 10 years within a corporate ranch structure. They discuss how leadership sets workplace tone and impacts culture, profitability, efficiency, safety, and retention, emphasizing transparency, clear communication, attitude, and providing employees tools, autonomy, and support.

Tom shares his shift from a default of anger toward more unbiased tone and open forums for crew input, along with accountability and continuing education requirements. Terryn highlights self-awareness, feedback, repair after poor interactions, and using stockmanship principles to assess energy and responses. They advise employees seeking better leadership to pursue education, ask curious questions, align around goals, and lead from any position, and they recommend resources such as universities/extension programs, podcasts, and paid options like Ranching for Profit. 

Links & Resources

Learn more about Red Angus here: https://redangus.org/

Learn more about At the Yards here: https://attheyards.com/ 

Learn more about CattleMax here: https://bit.ly/4aG7K5q

• 01:13 Meet Tom and Terryn Drieling
• 01:34 Why Leadership Matters
• 04:10 Tom’s Ranch Manager Role
• 05:42 Culture Tone and Transparency
• 10:57 Accountability and Team Buy In
• 13:48 Traits of Great Leaders
• 15:21 Self Audit and Self Awareness
• 19:07 Leading Without the Title
• 24:34 Training and Learning Resources
• 29:05 Key Takeaways and Wrap Up