For over 30 years, I have been building and maintaining numerous large flower beds around our home. Something is always blooming on our land from early March straight through to November. As a result, I have participated in numerous local garden tours and thoroughly enjoyed sharing about the plants that grow on our land.
During this time of year, hundreds of daffodils and tulips bloom. It is normal when I am out weeding for some one to stop and visit with me.
“This is beautiful,” they will say. “I want to create this kind of garden at my place. How do I do it?”
“Well,” I reply. “First, purchase good plants. Second, make sure they are planted well, and finally, take care of them.”
“Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks.”
“Your welcome. Happy gardening.”
Occasionally, some one will ask me a couple of follow-up questions.
“How do you know if a plant is a good plant?”
“If possible, pop the plant out of the pot and look at the roots. In the beginning, good roots are more important than a fancy flourish of leaves and flowers.”
“How do you make sure this good plant is planted well?”
“If you put a good plant in an unhealthy place, it will not grow. If you put it in good soil, then it will grow. While it would be great if every gardener could get a soil test to determine if their soil is healthy, this may not be possible. Instead, if you are uncertain about the health of your soil, just add some healthy soil to your soil and this will help. Your local garden center can share some different options with you about how to do this. Just remember adding good soil will always make poor soil better.”
“How do you take care of them once they are planted?”
“We can not control the weather, but we can make sure they are watered regularly. Maintaining a good plant is critical to long term success.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. As Stephen Covey said years ago: “No gardener, no garden.” Being disciplined is a major part of creating a beautiful garden.”
“Thanks. I understand now.”
“My pleasure. Happy gardening.”
I have been thinking about these interactions this week because of an experience I had a couple of years ago after the first session of the From Vision to Action Leadership Training. On that day, a young executive came up to me at the end of class and said, “I want to create what those people from that bank created at their organization. They are fully engaged employees with such a high degree of clarity and focus. I want my organization and my team to be just like them.”
“Wonderful,” I replied. “I think that is a good strategic goal to pursue.”
“So, how do I do this?”
“Well, that’s what this class is all about. But for starts, let’s break it down into three steps. Hire good people. Put them on a healthy team and in a healthy work environment. And then take good care of them on a regular basis.”
“How will I know if they are good people?”
“Check their roots. Their life journey impacts their mindset and skill set. Understand how they got from there to here. Good roots make good people.”
“How will I know if I am putting them in a healthy team and work environment?”
“If the people who are currently working there are treating each other with respect and trust, then I suspect your new employee will do just fine.”
“And finally, how do I take care of them?”
“Have the discipline to check in with them on a regular basis. Praise their progress and listen carefully to their concerns. But most of all, just show them that you care and that you want them to be successful. People appreciate this and then they will grow and flourish.”
“This makes sense. Thanks.”
“My pleasure.”
The key right now is to take care of our people and to show them that we care about them. As we move through another week of social distancing and the on-going journey of COVID-19, we as leaders need to take the time to make sure that every one knows that their efforts to do their best are appreciated and valued. This is not a small act of leadership. This is fundamental to good leadership.
I learned this from decades of gardening and decades of working with people. Good roots make good plants and they make good people. A healthy environment works for plants and people, too. And taking care of your plants and your people over time makes great gardens and great organizations.
So, this week, practice the above fundamentals at work, and happy gardening at home.
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