Is Your Leadership Only Growing One Perspective?

I walked into the kitchen recently and I immediately noticed, there on the counter, a huge bag of yellow squash from a friend.  I jokingly thought, “Wow.  Look at all that yellow squash!  I wonder if they grow anything else?”  And of course I know that they do, but it got me to thinking about gardeners and leadership. 

Average gardeners grow what they know.  They grow what they are comfortable with.  They know what seeds they planted the previous year that worked to yield the desired crops.  The same can be applied to leadership.  The average leader knows enough about their team’s level of performance, what each member is capable of and what their productivity outcome will most likely be.  

But what about great gardeners and leaders?  Great gardeners are willing to try new things.  Great gardeners will grow new varieties, discovering what plants work best and what ones don’t through trial and error.  They are willing to risk the loss.  The same concept applies to leaders.  Great leaders grow their team on a more personal level.  They encourage a variety of ideas, understanding that some outcomes will be favorable and some will fail.

Great leaders are open to their team’s perspectives. They listen to and support new ideas.  Those leaders understand that input from their team members helps them feel valued.  They feel  encouraged to expand upon their own thinking, and they become more willing to contribute.  Great leaders can graft a variety of perspectives with their own, to produce a greater outcome.  Even at the risk of failing.

Great gardeners (and leaders) know that when they have that combination of squash, tomatoes, and even cucumbers from time to time, it makes for a much tastier salad or a more enjoyable meal experience than just more yellow squash.

May you grow the perspective of others so that you can have a more successful team and harvest better results!