If You Don’t Know the Face, You Can’t Lead the Fill

In every facility, transfer station, landfill, or MRF, there’s one group that keeps the entire operation moving forward: the frontline. They’re the first ones on-site and the last ones to leave. They’re the ones who show up in all weather conditions, spotting hazards before they become incidents, working the face, keeping the trucks turning, sorting, cleaning, flagging, picking litter, watching, lifting, hauling. Day in, day out. And yet, somehow, they remain the least seen.

When we talk about improvements, safety, performance, and goals, it’s too often discussed in the context of leadership, metrics, or compliance. But the boots on the ground? They’re rarely asked for input. They’re rarely in the room when decisions are made. They’re rarely recognized unless something goes wrong.

That’s a problem.

Because these are not just “laborers.” These are skilled, aware, adaptive professionals. They know more about the realities of the job than any spreadsheet ever could. They can tell by the sound of a compactor when something’s off, before a gauge flashes or a sensor blinks. That subtle shift in pitch? They know it means something’s not right with the hydraulics. The drag in the push? Might be soft ground or a buried obstacle. It’s not luck. It’s time, experience, and a deep understanding of how the job feels.

It’s not guesswork. Its instinct built on time, and repetition.

These aren’t just workers, they’re tuned in. They’re fluent in the rhythm of the worksite, the sounds, the smells, the timing, the flow. They notice when the haul trucks are off cycle, when the ol' timer down the road doesn't show up on a Tuesday morning between the first break and the next round of trucks, when the cover material’s too wet, or when a new hire needs guidance before something goes wrong.

They notice what leadership often misses, not because leadership doesn’t care, but because they’re not out there living it. You don’t learn that kind of awareness from a whiteboard or a spreadsheet. You learn it from working the site every day, shoulder to shoulder with the team. You learn it from being in it, day after day.

Don’t underestimate the value they bring, or the soft skills they’ve mastered in the field. These operators are problem solvers, communicators, mentors, and observers. They de-escalate tension with a quick joke. They spot safety concerns others overlook. They know how to read a moment, keep a customer safe, manage a personality, and keep operations running even when everything else is falling apart.

These are skills that are virtually impossible to teach in a classroom. They’re earned through experience, sharpened through adversity, and sustained by pride in their work. If you’re not investing in these people, learning from them, developing them, listening to them, you’re leaving the best part of your operation untapped.

If we’re smart, we’ll stop overlooking that kind of operational intelligence, because it’s not just valuable, it’s essential.

The truth is, we don’t need more meetings about them. We need more action for them.

We need to stop seeing them as replaceable and start investing in them like they’re the future, because they are. Training, respect, development, succession, real communication, not just policies on paper. We should be listening to their ideas, supporting their growth, and acknowledging that the job they do is both physically and mentally demanding.

They deserve better.

Not just on Employee Appreciation Day, but every single day we rely on them to keep our sites safe, compliant, and operational. Let’s shift the spotlight. Let’s turn down the noise in the conference room, on the teams meeting, and turn up the volume in the field.

Because if you really want to improve operations, start by honoring the people doing the work.

Because bridging the gap doesn’t start at the top, it starts in the middle.

Middle management plays a critical role in connecting strategy to execution. But too often, they’re caught in the middle of approvals, paperwork, and customer complaints, and lose touch with the actual work happening outside their office window.

We need leaders who can bridge the gap, not just approve timecards or answer customer calls, but understand the job at a deeper level. Leaders who know the lingo, the load counts, the limitations of equipment in rough weather. Leaders who don’t just manage people, but lead with purpose and credibility.

To truly support the frontline, we need managers who understand the grind, who’ve either worked it, walked it, or taken the time to learn it firsthand. Managers who speak the language of the landfill, who know the difference between pushing dirt and placing waste, who can recognize when a machine’s not running right just by listening, and who know that landfill is one word.

It’s not enough to know the SOPs. You’ve got to know the people. You’ve got to walk the site, run the dozer, level the tipper, ask questions, and listen to the ones who do it every day.

Yes, customer service matters. Yes, approvals matter. But operational leadership matters just as much, and in this industry, credibility is earned on the ground.

If we want to truly uplift the workforce, we need middle managers who do more than manage, we need leaders who get it.

Because the best support doesn’t come from above, it comes from beside you.

This industry doesn’t need more oversight, it needs more insight. And that only happens when the people in charge have been exposed to the grind, walked the slopes, sorted on the line, and talked with the team.

Invest in training that builds confidence from the ground up.

Develop your frontline, and then develop the people who lead them. Because if the middle layer doesn’t understand the foundation, the whole structure suffers.

Frontline work isn’t just labor, it’s legacy. It’s where the heartbeat of your operation lives. And it’s time we start treating it that way.