Grow West Newsletter
Growing Together Fall 2025
Leadership Profile: Transitions With Purpose
How Grow West supports leadership change without losing momentum
Maxwell Manager Greg Kamienski
Grow West has experienced numerous leadership transitions over the years, but the company has maintained a philosophy of thoughtful, people-focused leadership planning that keeps customer and employee relations at the forefront.
Regardless of the level or location, the goals are the same during transitions: honor relationships, preserve trust and set up the next leader for success. These require communication, training, support and respect.
Grow West Vice President of Human Resources Samantha Hanley said every transition is different and having a solid plan is vital.
“If there is a health concern, we may need to move quicker through a transition versus someone who plans to retire in five years,” Hanley said. “With managers moving towards retirement, we allow them to announce that they will be exiting at a specific date, who the new manager will be and the strategy. With a five-year plan, the incoming manager will have a quieter role and do more observing in the first year, then eventually move towards the forefront of the operation with the retiring manager less involved in the daily operations. The new manager will be responsible for working on budgets, performance reviews, employee relations, sales goals and reviewing the location P&L statements.”
Former Maxwell Manager Mike Griffith
CHANGES HANDLED WITH INTENTION
The manager transition at Grow West’s Maxwell location – from Mike Griffith to Greg Kamienski – is an excellent example of how leadership changes are handled with intention to ensure a new leader has time to shadow and learn as well as connect with team members, customers and community partners.
Griffith began his Grow West career in 2002, serving as the Maxwell branch manager since the location opened the same year. The transition process began in 2020 when Griffith announced his retirement plan and identified Kamienski as his successor. Kamienski had been with the Maxwell branch since 2005 after spending a year at the Walnut Grove branch. Prior to becoming manager, Kamienski served as a PCA/sales rep.
Griffith said the branch manager is like a coach who deals with a team with different personalities, wants, needs and goals. When he was considering his successor, Griffith knew he needed a coach that could continue to successfully oversee the team – and he was confident that Kamienski could fill the role.
Kamienski said he was surprised about being selected, but excited for the change.
“I was very knowledgeable about the chemicals, fertilizers, products and field work, but I wasn’t privy to the internal workings of the company and location,” Kamienski said. “I had an immense amount of support from Mike and the Maxwell team. We have a lot of good people here who helped make the transition a smooth one.”
COMMUNICATION AND CONSISTENCY
Fostering open communication and keeping a consistent routine were essential factors during the Maxwell transition.
Maxwell Branch
Griffith said he first had thoughtful conversations with individual employees – some of whom had been with the company longer than Kamienski – to articulate his reasons for selecting Kamienski.
“It was important for me to be honest and transparent,” Griffith said. “After those conversations, Greg had their support and still does. He was the right fit without a doubt and he’s been doing a tremendous job. He’s been great working with everyone on his team and he cares about them. The whole Maxwell team supports and respects Greg. One individual can’t run this business alone; Greg needs help from administrative roles to the service crew to sales reps, and he has that.”
Communication with team members and customers was also beneficial to ensure consistency and efficiency.
“We have meetings with our service crew and sales reps every Tuesday,” Griffith said. “Both groups are so important to keeping the branch running. The meetings are helpful to keep everyone on the same page and to give them opportunities to communicate needs, wants or concerns.”
Throughout the transition, Griffith also made it a priority to take Kamienski out to visit customers together.
“Our main focus was to ensure that things stayed consistent for not only the Maxwell team, but for the customers we service,” Kamienski said.
TRUST MATTERS
Trust was also a significant factor for the successful transition.
“It’s a two-way street: You have to be able to trust your employees and they have to be able to trust you and the decisions you make,” Griffith said. “Greg and I have a huge line of communication, even with the transition being complete. I still come in most mornings and I attend the Tuesday meetings. I want to make sure Greg feels like he can come to me when he encounters something new. Oftentimes I will give him my perspective, and he takes it into consideration. But the decisions are his to make now and I am here to support him.”
Kamienski said, “Mike and I have had a great relationship at work and outside of work. With that came the trust and communication that were important for the change to succeed.”
As vice president of human resources, Hanley’s role supporting the Maxwell and other transitions is to support the retiring manager, incoming manager and all employees involved.
“While change is never easy and it can make employees apprehensive, the confidence that a manager has in their successor is of the utmost importance and it exudes trust to the other employees,” Hanley said. “Also, choosing someone who is familiar with the employees and location, and has tenure with Grow West, are key to continuing to make the location a success. Mike made the right choice in choosing Greg. He is easy to work with from an admin perspective and is always willing to listen, learn and ask questions. Greg’s easygoing nature has made it easy to support the leadership transition from my standpoint and for the employees.”
Grow West Vice President of Human Resources Samantha Hanley
Maxwell Branch
