What Gardening Taught Me About Leadership

Much has been written about the keys to building culture. Providing safety, vision, clarity of mission, celebrating and recognizing talent, and assembling the right mix of skills and personalities are just a few. It is also essential for the team to struggle.

According to The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups, teams with strong culture “are energized and engaged, but at their core their members are oriented less around achieving happiness than around solving hard problems together. This task involves many moments of high-candor feedback, uncomfortable truth-telling, when they confront the gap between where the group is, and where it ought to be.”

So, while the leader is important, culture relies on employees being willing to explore, be vulnerable and engage in the work. It depends on the relationships that develop naturally over time and peer reinforcement of norms and standards of performance. Leaders who try to dictate the norms often face resistance and rebellion among their teams.

As I worked in my garden while thinking about this book, I reflected on the similarities between building culture and cultivating a garden. As a gardener, I must prepare the soil to make the conditions favorable for growth. I must ensure there is sun, water and the right nutrients.

But I don’t control the growth. Growth occurs as part of internal changes and action. Still, if my garden is to thrive, my actions are important. As a leader, your actions or inactions will also greatly impact the outcomes of your teams.

What are you doing to cultivate the culture of your organization?

• Are you actively nurturing the right environment? Is the work environment conducive to growth? Are there opportunities within your organization for employees to progress in their careers? Are there opportunities for them to be heard and for their unique skills to be celebrated?
• Are you selecting the right “seeds” for success? Do you have the right mix of people (and skills) that will complement each other as they grow? Are the teams built in a way that ensures people are in roles favorable to their growth and contribute to the overall design?
• Are you rooting out the weeds? Employees who continually resist change, challenge the vision unproductively, cause unnecessary drama, and fail to show up in their work will quickly undermine your culture. Be firm, honest, and quick to address those issues.
• Are you letting the team struggle? Just as plants rely on a certain amount of “struggling” to establish deeper root systems and adapt to the environment, your team needs to be challenged and struggle — with support and encouragement along the way. If there aren’t enough challenges, they grow complacent and restless.
• Are you getting your hands dirty? No garden grows without the gardener getting their hands dirty. As a leader, you too must spend time with your employees helping with the work.

Cultivating culture is not a one-time effort — it’s a continuous and dynamic process. As a leader, you must actively shape and nurture the environment in which your team operates.

Evaluate how you are intentionally cultivating the culture of your teams. Are you providing the right conditions for growth, selecting the right mix of people, addressing issues promptly, and allowing your team to face challenges and grow? Your actions or inactions will greatly impact the outcomes of your teams.

This spring, it’s time to roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirt  and tend the garden. The success of your organization depends on it.