"If there is no gardener, there is no garden."~Steven Covey - First Things First~
As a manager, I can't tell you how many times I've been frustrated, or disappointed about something a team member has done. I'll even admit to self-pity, now and then. I wonder sometimes, "Why can't they figure out what to do? We've spent hours in staff meeting discussions, shouldn't they know by now?" Then I realize that I'm expecting them to read my mind, or do what I would do. Sometimes what might seem obvious to me, never enters someone else's mind. It is then I realize that we are all different, we all see the world differently, and we all see different solutions to situations and problems.
What does this have to do with gardening? Try to see your practice as a garden and yourself as the gardener. First things first, you have to prepare the ground, in this case, your staff. At first, you'll probably be filled with enthusiasm, you just can't wait to get in there and get things, or people, growing. If you're like me when I attempt to garden, after about an hour or two, it just becomes tedious and you really wish someone else would come along and finish up. You can't do that with people, once you start, you need to stick it out or you won't like the result.
Just like an attentive gardener, you need to fertilize the thoughts you plant with acknowledgement, praise and encouragement. When you see the thoughts and ideas you've planted start to grow, you have to help them along. You can't just plant and walk away, or it will all dry up and disintegrate. Keep at it and before long, you'll have the results you worked for.
An experienced gardener also knows that he must be watchful for the weeds that will choke out the plants he is trying to cultivate. In our practices, there are times when a team member is not ready to be productive and work toward service to others. So, to begin with we can see their attitude as a weed. If we can help them change their attitude, we can keep them in our garden and let them produce. If they persist in their attitude, they become a weed and we risk letting them choke the good attitude out of the rest of the staff. Just like gardeners dislike weeding the garden, so do managers and owners dislike weeding their staff, but it must be done when needed to ensure healthy growth.
Now, let me turn my attention to the seed itself. A gardener knows that the purpose of growing flowers, fruit or vegetables is to give nourishment and pleasure to ourselves and others. Do you realize that your purpose is the same? When you are considering the seeds of thought you will plant, consider their purpose. Will this make someone's life better? Will it have a positive effect in the life of anyone? Will it help you and your team serve others?
These are simple questions with one word answers. If you can't answer "Yes", you have some work to do. Does your practice have a gardener, or is everything just growing haphazardly? Is it you? If not, who will it be?
Comments