A great team start with a great leader. This involves setting goals for the team, communicating the mission, setting proper systems and standards and leading by example, Team motivation- Simple recognition of your team’s efforts and celebrating their achievement can go a long way.
Who is Nancy Kurgat? Describe yourself as concisely as you may.
Nancy Kurgat is the production and technical manager, Sian Agriflora. She is also a team leader and has over 15 years experience in the floriculture sector. She has a training in Horticulture (Egerton University), Business & strategic management (Moi University) and several in job trainings on supervisory and leadership among others. Over the years, she has grown and progressed through the ranks from supervisory level to management level.
Ladies have a natural affinity for the world of flowers, and show much greater appreciation for it than men do. Even then, very few go about establishing their careers in the flower production industry, like you have done. What spurred you to do so? Any role model or someone who inspired you?
My role model in the industry is Mr Andrew Wambua, the General Manager of Molo River who was my boss when I first joined the industry at Equator flowers. I attribute a lot of my success to the first trainings and mentorship I attained from him. I cannot forget our Chairman Mr. Micah Cheserem whose leadership really inspired and geared me to another level of leadership and creativity. I have not words to express my gratitude other than a big thank you.
In addition, it has been noticed by men of all ages is the affinity of women towards flowers; the freshness, gorgeousness and the innocent blooms have always been a dire favourite of women. Even with this love for flowers women perceived the career as hard for to pursue because of the associated obstacles for instance, growing is tasking and needs a lot of commitment in terms of time. Most women will wish for careers that ensure they are home early and over the weekends to take care of the family.
I joined the industry immediately after I cleared my studies and I must say that I also had the same reservations but after working for some time I realized that I enjoyed more than I thought! I cheered myself that, “YES, I CAN, and will be, a significant part of the floriculture industry in spite of all the obstacles.”
How long have you been working in the sector, kindly take us through your journey to your current position.
My work experience in the sector is 15 years. After I cleared college, I secured a position in Sian roses, Equator flowers as a production supervisor in charge of 10ha, I was promoted to integrated pest management as IPM officer and tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the production and application of Phytoseiulus in the entire field which I did before I returned back to production as Production Officer (assistant to the production & technical manager).This is where I build my career base. I gained a lot of experience on the job and leadership.Ten years down the line, I was promoted to my current position of production and technical manager in Agriflora (k) ltd, a sister company to Equator flowers where I have served for the past 5 years.
Briefly discuss the challenges you go through daily? What would you point out as your strongest attribute that has made you succeed? How do you rise up to the greatest challenge that your job presents?
There are many challenges in growing, ranging from challenges which are technical in nature and require technical solutions to weather challenges which impact the production either positively or negatively and Market challenges among others.
To me the critical challenge is the human resource. Managing employees on day to day basis is critical to the success of any company. It is actually the resource number one, without the right people you have no company.
The behaviour of the employees at work will determine how they will work, their attitudes and feelings about the organization. This will determine their level of commitments towards ensuring the overall goal of the organization.
When you have highly motivated team, the level of commitment is high and vice versa. Many things we do as management to ensure that the employee is HAPPY, this is not limited to constant communication with the team, motivation, proper leadership etc.
You have quite a lot of people looking up to you as a manager. Describe how you manage expectations, as well as go about goal-setting for your staff.
Many times we know what we expect from employees, but we fail to know what they expect from us! It is good to also try and find out what employees really expect from the management. As an Employee I also expect to be treated with respect, to trust and be trusted by the people I work with, I need assurance in terms of job security and to be given opportunity to use my skills and abilities to work and deliver.
So with this in mind as a leader I should be empathetic, treat people the way I would wish to be treated by my bosses. It is as simple as that. Also by holding frequent meetings and involving them in addressing any arising issue, employees will feel much appreciated. I don’t also forget the fact that I should communicate, communicate and communicate. Communication is two way and feedback is the breakfast of champions.
As a woman in a position of leadership, have you felt that at times, the scrutiny was much more intense during tougher times, just by virtue of being a woman? How do you respond to this? Also, do describe the challenges that you face as a woman in leadership.
Not really, and may be because I have only worked in one organization. I don’t know! In Sian roses there are equal opportunities for both men and women and the amount of scrutiny depend on your performance as an individual, it is not affected by gender.
A person’s leadership abilities depend on the individual strengths and personality traits and not on their gender. We give credit to our top management and directors since the ratio of men to women in leadership is almost at 50%.
Through your own personal filter, what is the “best” decision you feel you ever made? Along the same lanes, which one qualifies as your worst?
One time I was to quit working in Sian Roses for the perceived greener pastures in one of the flower farms in Kenya, by then I was still in supervisory level, I strongly doubt if I would have reached my current level.
Kenya is a major player in the global flower industry, what are the most prevalent challenges that get in the way of building the flower sector?
Floriculture is one of Kenya’s top foreign exchange earners. However, flower farmers face many challenges that affect their competitiveness. They include; stringent market requirements, the ever rising cost of production, numerous taxation by the government, change in weather caused by global warming, water security crisis, competition and unstable price in the market among others
Despite the country being a major player in the global flower industry, do you get the notion that at times, the Kenyan government does not accord the industry with the requisite seriousness that an industry of its size and profitability should command? If so, what can the government do to improve and offer sufficient support?
The country’s flower target is to achieve the best efficiency in production and the whole value chain at large with a consistent better quality for sustainability. With the advent of globalization, there is an increasing need for Kenya to improve the competitiveness in line with the rising demand for more product diversification and sophistication amid the constantly changing consumer preferences. Support from the national and county governments on policies that create ease of investment and doing business, for instance on taxation, provision of essential services such as energy, water, land etc., infrastructure, investments, institutional coordination, innovation and human capital among others will spur more growth of the industry. The industry will also benefit from support on trade by the government in existing and emerging markets.
What makes your farm’s produce unique, and separates it from the rest?
Sian Roses farms are located in 3 different locations; Eldoret, Nakuru and Kitengela with different altitudes, we have both high and low altitude farms. They total 117ha. We therefore produce assortment of varieties with top class quality ranging from intermediates to Premium of both standard and Spray Roses.
What are some of your choice teamworkenhancing strategies that you apply, as a team leader?
‘‘Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.’’- Henry Ford. My team enhancing strategies include but are not limited to the following; Effective communication- Communication within a team is like blood in human system, so as a team we communicate all the time using any available means like meetings, WhatsApp group chats etc. I communicate clear instructions and expectations to the team and again as a team player I must listen what the team has to say. It is two way. Effective leadership- A great team start with a great leader. This involves setting goals for the team, communicating the mission, setting proper systems and standards and leading by example, Team motivation- Simple recognition of the team’s efforts and celebrating their achievement can go a long way. There are many ways to reward which can either be financial or non-financial. I recognize the best employees and whenever a vacancy arises I promote the outstanding employees and this has really been taken positively by the team. I encourage the culture of learning and creativity- A highly knowledgeable team is highly motivated, so through frequent in-house trainings this has really gone a long way in boosting morale and building confidence. Proper Planning- I note employees enjoy working SMART than working hard.
Five, ten years from now, how do you see the flower sector doing? Do you have any personal projections that you would like to share?
The market is dynamic I must say, it is about fashion and over the years I have seen a lot of changes in market trends. I remember when I joined the industry, standard roses were almost dominant, and there came the spray roses which are almost flooded in the market now. Iam projecting change of trend towards more value added bouquets and special flowers like the garden shape and laces.
What is, in your informed opinion, the most potent challenge that the flower farmer faces today? How should he/she go about mitigating this particular challenge?
The new market rules that faces the export to Australia, the zero tolerance to any crawling insect pest including even the beneficial insects. Kenya is staring at a possible loss of the multibillion shilling Australian flower market.
At the moment it is very difficult to comply with this requirement given that there is no infrastructure in place. The new regulation require that Kenyan exporters fumigate their flowers at the point of origin.
There are some flower farms that insist on gender equality, with regard to employment opportunities, and this is perhaps easier to apply seeing as how women have a natural affinity for the flower world. Do you have a similar dynamic in place?
Why not, Men and women should be given equal opportunities especially in management level, but for the lower lever you have to consider the nature of the work. Women are not allowed by law to work in spray department. However more women can be deployed in pack houses and field.
What is your preferred style of working or management? Does it in any way empower or affect the daily output of your team
I balance between all the management styles depending on the prevailing situation but mostly it is consultative; we set and agree on our goals as a team where the objectives are clearly communicated to the team, I motivate the team and also reprimand them when necessary. I believe in nurturing and mentoring my team because management is not about systems and theories. Management is about people, managing people is critical and by the way people are tricky because they know the rules and when to break them, they know when to be flexible and when not. So I have to be very tactful in my leadership. However, sometimes the autocratic leadership has to prevail this mostly applies when I want to keep on top of situation. Laissez fair is not my cup of tea simply because nature doesn’t allow vacuum! If you don’t provide leadership somehow a ‘leader’ will emerge from the group.
Briefly detail how you maintain balance in your life, with regards to work versus personal living, especially as a holder of what must be, at the very least, an occasionally stressful position
Have you ever wondered how our traditional mothers used to balance their cores at home? You could see a mother performing many tasks at once like taking care of the baby(s), cooking and planning other work at the same time? (just an example)
Apparently women are very good and natural multitaskers and they were blessed with the ability to decisively respond to simultaneous and different tasks or problems at the same time. This is God given and a critical component to successful leadership. However, with proper planning you can always achieve your business goals as well as your personal well being.
A few words of advice to young girls, and basically youths at large, who desire to eventually hold positions of leadership similar to yours when they become career people.
Girls are just as qualified as boys! What a man can do, a woman can do better. Therefore I urge young girls and women to wake up and compete equally as men in leadership positions. Nothing is hard, be determined, have self-confidence and above all believe in yourself. Believe that you can and you will.
What legacy do you want to leave behind in the agricultural sector?
I want to be remembered as one of the significant and successful women leaders in the flower industry.
Give your final comments
Leadership is a calling; effective leaders don’t lead for personal gains, if you do so you miss the bigger picture. There is nothing wrong in accomplishing personal goals, but you may end up killing morale. Do not only focus on results, take care of the people and they will take care of the organization. A happy employee is a happy organization.