Manageing your Workplace Garden
By Leanne Crain
It is that time of year again to get the gardens in the front yard ready for the winter. As we were going through them, I was commenting on how nice they looked this year. The flowers all were strong and tall, and have beautiful blooms on them all season, despite the odd weather we’ve been having this summer.
How did this happen? Well, if you’ve ever had a garden, you probably know it didn’t happen that way overnight. In fact, those gardens have been months of effort. First you choose the right soil and cultivate it. Next you pick the flowers that will flourish in the environment you have available to you. The garden is now beautiful and ready to show off. However, it is not that easy. The flowers will not do their best without work! After planting, you must spend the rest of the summer fertilizing, watering, and keeping all the weeds at bay so that the flowers have room to grow to their full potential.
Naturally, I had to ponder this similarity to leadership. How do you create an effective team? Unbelievably, the process is very similar. First the organization needs to be cultivated and ready to handle a team. Next, you choose the team that will best suit the environment you are providing. You now have a stunning arrangement of colourful personalities that all have their own strengths. The workplace garden.
Yet, here is the point where we stumble. All too often we put together a dynamite team, and then forget to help them grow. We leave them to their own devices, and expect that they will figure it out, and flourish.
Leaders need to take time, all the time, to make sure their team is receiving everything they require for their growth. Do they have the training they need? Is their environment meeting all of their expectations? Are you getting rid of the negativity when it pops up?
Just as a garden left alone will succumb to weeds, so too will a team succumb to negativity. It is your job as a leader to be the positive force, and get those negative thoughts out. If you don’t want the team to become stagnant – energize them with things that will bring out the best in them.
Remember, after you get your workplace garden going, take time to be proud of it, but make sure you also take time to keep it growing so that it can reach its highest potential.
For more on leadership, please contact Gary Gzik at 613.342.2200 ext. 108 or at ggzik@bizxcel.com.
Leanne Crain is a Marketing Assistant for BizXcel. Her background is marketing and tourism, and she has over 12 years experience in the sales and marketing field.
