What we learned at the NALP Leaders Forum

We're in Santa Barbara, California, for this year's Leaders Forum event. 

The event, hosted by the National Association of Landscape Professionals, brings together NALP members for a series of peer-to-peer discussions on topics pertinent to the green industry.

Senior Editor Kim Lux is on hand to tell landscapers what they may be missing if they're not in California this week.

Overheard Thursday

A pleasurable year for H-2B

Andrew Bray, NALP’s senior vice president of government relations, suspects 2026 will be a solid season for landscape contractors looking to utilize the H-2B program.

© Kim Lux

Bray told attendees at NALP’s annual Leaders Forum that once again 64,716 visas will be released this year. That’s four years in a row with the same number of available visas.

“I see a scenario where most people get their visas this year,” Bray says. “Remember it could be a little bit delayed, but I feel pretty confident its going to be a good year for everybody.”

Bray says he feels like anyone in sections A and B in the lottery system will have no issue getting their visas on time. He adds he’s fairly confident those in groups C, D and E will also have labor for the year.

Bray notes that the returning workers provision stays in place but the Northern Triangle carveout (for workers from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras) has been removed.

In addition to updating attendees on all things H-2B, Bray took the time to address the ongoing ICE incidents happening across the nation.

“The No. 1 thing you need to be is prepared,” he says to attendees.

Bray notes it’s not enough for business leaders to have a plan, but for that plan to be crystal clear to everyone in the company from branch manager on down.

He adds that during these difficult times Trust, empathy and listening is of upmost importance.

Bray added that legally, ICE enforcement officers are allowed to stop individuals for the way they look, speak and if they’re working in several industries, including landscaping and construction.

“Please take this seriously,” Bray warns.

Dangers if you hinder dynamic thinking

Gabrielle Adams, of the UVA Darden school of Business, held a session titled “Managing Employee Voice and Team Dynamics.”

© Kim Lux

During this session, each individual table of attendees was given an exercise where they were stranded following a plane crash. They were given a list of 15 items, including everything from a quart of water to a knife to a cosmetic mirror, and asked to rank them on order of importance. First, attendees were asked to rank them individually and then as a team.

Once the expert survivalist rankings were revealed, it was evident that most tables did better as a collective team than their individual score.

Adams says this shows the necessity for productive teams, and therefore productive meetings.

Adams and attendees identified that groups and meetings are important for combining skills and perspectives as well as optimizing output, but the goal may not always be group consensus.

“There has to be productive conflict,” Adams says. “Having an agreement on your stated goal isn’t enough…consensus is so much more comfortable than debate, so we try to get to consensus as fast as we can but debate is so critical to making good decisions.”

Adams warns against agreement focus thinking and encourages leaders to promote debate. With most attendees spending 30- to 40% of their time in meetings, Adams hopes leaders can take these practices into action which will result in productive gains.

© Kim Lux | Lawn & Landscape

Overheard Friday

Top tips with Taylor St. Germain of ITR Economics

A longstanding constant of Leaders Forum — ITR Economics’ Taylor St. Germain —  gave his yearly economic outlook for 2026 and even 2027. Here’s some of the biggest takeaways from his presentation:
A recession is not forecasted for the remainder of the decade

• Tariffs aren’t going away — and neither is inflation
  
• Labor costs will continue to increase 4- to 5% each year for the next four years
  
• Electricity costs are expected to skyrocket as well over the next few years
  
• There is a record number of people in the green industry, 919,000 individuals, but the growth of labor in the industry is slowing.
  
• A challenging economic downturn is expected in 2030