Helping winery leaders create the conditions for better thinking, better decisions, and stronger teams.
Someone usually notices before a problem becomes obvious.
A cellar worker hears that a pump sounds different.
A vineyard employee sees something changing in a block.
A hospitality team member recognizes a pattern in what guests are saying.
A manager knows that someone on the team is nearing exhaustion.
An employee realizes that a process was missed or a mistake was made.
The information exists.
The question is whether it reaches the person who needs to hear it.
People quickly learn which information is welcome in a workplace. They also learn what happens to the person who brings a problem forward.
Are they thanked?
Are they given attention and allowed to finish?
Are they questioned with genuine curiosity?
Or are they dismissed, blamed, interrupted, or told why their concern is not important?
A leader’s first response matters.
That response teaches everyone within hearing distance whether it is safe to speak honestly the next time.
When we treat people as thinking equals, welcome a different view, and appreciate the courage it may take to speak, important information is more likely to reach us in time.
Equality does not mean that everyone holds the same role or makes the final decision. It means recognizing that every person is capable of thinking and that a valuable observation can come from anywhere in the winery.
Difference matters, too.
The person who sees the situation differently may be the person who helps us see it accurately. But if agreement is safer than honesty, that difference will remain unspoken.
This does not mean every concern is correct. It does not mean every suggestion must be followed. It means people can say what they see without first calculating the personal cost of saying it.
This is especially important during harvest, when people are tired, conditions change rapidly, and small problems can quickly become expensive ones.
Leaders do not need to have an immediate answer.
They do need to make it possible for the truth to enter the room.
When people feel safe enough to speak, leaders gain access to more of the intelligence within the winery. Problems are identified earlier. Assumptions can be questioned. Decisions are made with a fuller picture of what is actually happening.
The absence of bad news does not necessarily mean that everything is going well.
Sometimes it means people have stopped bringing it.
Problems grow in silence.
The Thinking Advantage Principle
The next time someone brings you a concern, resist the impulse to explain, correct, defend, or solve it immediately.
Begin with appreciation:
“Thank you for telling me.”
Then give the person your full attention and ask:
“What else are you noticing?”
Listen long enough to receive the information—including the part that may differ from your own view.
If people seem reluctant to speak, consider the assumption holding them back:
Are they assuming that honesty will bring blame, dismissal, or disapproval?
Replace it with a freeing assumption:
Honest observations are wanted and will be treated with respect.
Then ask:
If everyone here knew that their honest observations were genuinely wanted, what might they tell us?
This Week's Leadership Practice
Pay attention to your first response when someone brings you inconvenient information.
What does your face communicate?
What does your tone communicate?
Do you become curious—or do you immediately begin explaining?
Your response is helping to create the conditions for the next honest conversation.
A Good Thinking Question
What might people in my organization know that they are hesitant to tell me?
A Thought To Take With You
“The sooner the truth can be spoken, the sooner the best thinking can begin.”