Books, Covers and Tomatoes

Have you ever been surprised by someone in your organization? Someone who communicates to you excitement and vigor about working hard and achieving success but then quickly fades out? Many who seem to be full of potential and “sure fire” winners just...aren’t. If we as leaders aren’t careful, we can pile our eggs in these unproven baskets, create expectations around rookie excitement, and end up both disappointed in those people for not walking the walk and in ourselves for jumping on a train that hasn’t yet left the station.

On the other hand, have you ever been surprised by someone in your organization? Someone who communicates a conservative, cautious or even unwilling approach to the business but ends up shining as a star on your team? Many who appear easily counted out or unreliable can take us off guard and really flourish into high-powered contributors to our business’ bottom line. If we as leaders aren’t careful, we can overlook these hidden gems, discount their interest in contributing to the team, and end up missing an opportunity to support and grow those late bloomers.

I love to garden. I am marginal at it but improving. I have a good friend who starts heirloom tomatoes in her house in February and delivers some them to me by the beginning of April. I always ask her for a few more than I intend to plant because…I’m marginal at it. When I put them into the ground last month, I had high hopes for three of them, one was a Hail Mary, and the last one was all but dead but I had already dug the hole. As of yesterday, those last two are the biggest ones in the garden. I put them all in the same soil – and I knew the soil was good.

As leaders, it’s our job to focus on being awesome soil. Some of our leaders start big and stay big. Some start with big intentions and falter off. And some are all but dead when we get them and they end up surprising us by running head to head with the big ones. Our job is to focus on being support and giving them all the tools they need to grow. Let’s not get caught up in potential based on talk or appearance. Let’s get caught up in being awesome soil. Here are a few questions for the week…

What do your leaders need currently that you aren’t providing?

How can you tailor your approach to each of your leaders in order to support them best?

Are you allowing yourself to be hijacked by unmet expectations on unproven “baskets”?

With whom are you hesitating because they seem like a Hail Mary?

How can you redirect your energies and attention to improving yourself as nourishing soil?

Lean Forward,

Bekka