“Where are you from?”
Although it may seem like a simple question at face value, for Melanie Langley, it’s not. With roots in two different continents, Langley says she’s never liked having to answer that one.
Born the daughter of an American father and Spaniard mother in London, Ohio, Langley lived there for a number of years before moving to Washington, D.C., when her father got a job with USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. They eventually moved to Mexico City and then to Brazil before returning to Ohio.
“I feel very connected to the United States – I am half American. But I’m also connected to Spain, and to Mexico and to Brazil,” Langley says. “That experience of constantly having to define what that is has taught me how to come alongside folks who are from those areas very easily, but also with people who aren’t from a country I’m familiar with.”
Experiencing other countries in such an immersive way teaches certain traits that help shape and give you the ability to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes, she adds. She watched her father come alongside farmers internationally to build programs and make sure the exports and imports of the United States were flowing well.
“While I may not have originally intended to end up in agriculture, my childhood gave me a vision and a heart for people who are from other places,” Langley says. “It helped me to learn how to navigate systems that weren’t mine.”
It’s one thing to translate words, but that’s not the same as understanding them.
“I know what it is to be an outsider, and I think that is the main element that helps me in what I do today,” she says. “I know what it is to walk into a culture that’s not your own, to be the one on the outside and not understand what’s going on. There’s an isolation that comes with it. I think that uncertainty gave me empathy for all people.”
It Starts With Trust
This ability to “put on the right glasses” and step back to see what others see is just one of the many reasons why Langley, Fine Swine’s people care director, is making an impact in the industry today. She says it all starts with establishing trust.
“Work on trust,” she says. “Regardless of how challenging it may be, maintain that trust. If I am not keeping my word, if I’m not explaining my decisions, if I’m not showing up when something goes wrong or admitting when I miss it, then I am slowly eroding that bank of trust I have with my people. My understanding of trust is that it is incredibly slow to build, and very quick to lose.”
She shared her ‘Three Ps’ framework—Protection, Purpose and Presence—to illustrate how prioritizing the person behind the pig is the ultimate key to success in the barn.
1. Protection
“If I’m asking somebody to leave their family behind and to come to a new country, to learn a new language, adopt a new culture and try to figure out what we do here in the United States, I do have to offer some sort of protection so that,” Langley says. “What does that protection look like? It looks like compliance. It looks like making sure the inside of our farms are safe, that we have safety protocols in place that work, and that ensure when it’s time to go home, our workers are walking out healthy and ready to go.”
Protection ensures practices are fair across the board, that policies and protocols are clear, and most importantly, that there is consistency. The first step to instilling motivation into a team or bringing culture or engagement is to make sure people feel safe.
2. Purpose
Finding your why is essential to discovering that motivation and being able to show up. Having people understand the why of what they do, whether it’s scraping feeders, colostrum training in day-one rooms or breeding, understanding the bigger purpose and what it contributes to the company is huge, Langley adds.
When a team member feels a sense of purpose, they aren’t just scraping a feeder; they are ensuring a piglet has the best start possible, which directly impacts the farm’s bottom line.
“When people understand that – when people are bought in – performance will rise, people will take pride in what they do, and ultimately, that will result in ownership, which is what we all want,” she says.
3. Presence
Langley says presence is the biggest key to success in her book, and probably the hardest because it requires showing up. Just this week, she noticed something was off with one of her managers.
“I didn’t know what it was, but I just felt like there was this disconnect,” she says. “I happened to walk in while the team was showering out. We stood across the counter from each other and had a conversation that was absolutely mind-blowing.”
That’s why taking time to be present is so valuable, she says.
“You never know what people are walking through,” she says. “Don’t be so confined to a schedule that you’re constantly thinking about the next thing on the checklist. Make sure you listen without rushing. It’s not a waste of time. At the end of the day, if we don’t have our people, we’re not going to have our production.”
A Place to Grow
When people feel seen and valued, they show up to work in a different way. They are more devoted, stay longer and do their job with more ownership and intentionality.
Iain Harris, director of production for Fine Swine, describes Langley as a natural-born people care leader.
“She can put her owner’s hat on and simultaneously wear a people care hat,” Harris says. “I think that’s one of her strengths. Even though her focus is on making sure our people are cared for, that assimilation is successful for them, she can also put on her owner’s hat and hold that line.”
Empathy isn’t “being soft"; it’s building the trust necessary to have hard conversations.
The employees at Fine Swine appreciate this about Langley. One of the farm’s production specialists, Chayo Salgado Ortega, says, “Melanie has taught me how to communicate effectively with people, how to be empathetic with colleagues, and that it’s okay to admit when we’re wrong.”
Offering a safe space where people can make mistakes is important, Langley says.
“I don’t know anybody who has ever walked into a job, rocked it 110% and never made a mistake. Nobody’s perfect, so we need to make sure that we’re creating spaces that are safe for our folks to be able to grow, because nine times out of 10, they’re not going to make that same mistake again.”
By creating a space where people—regardless of where they are from—feel safe to grow, Langley isn’t just managing a workforce; she’s cultivating the future of Fine Swine.
You can listen to more of Langley’s story on “The PORK Podcast” on YouTube or follow The PORK Podcast anywhere podcasts are found.
Read more stories about Melanie Langley here:
6 Little Ways to Make Your Farm a Place Employees Love
Why You Can’t Afford Not to Onboard Employees
