Monday, May 17, 2010

Gardener as Leader

Okay, I admit it. 'Tis the season to be obsessed with gardening. I'm out there every second that can spare, digging, planting, weeding, and watering. And then when it's dark, I come indoors to my computer, and instead of working on revising my novel, I connect to gardening websites and read avidly about the mysteries of growing potatoes, or how to mulch properly. Most recently, I have discovered a gardening social network called Folia that allows one to keep a gardening journal online and much, much more.

Lately, I was involved in some leadership workshops. In keeping with my current obsession, I began reflecting on what you can tell about a person's leadership style from the kind of gardener he or she is. Here are a few examples:

  • plants vegetables, not flowers -- pragmatic leader
  • plants intensively -- concerned with productivity, and careful husbanding of resources
  • seeds too thickly -- lacks confidence; failure averse
  • turns all the garden into lawn -- not a nurturing type
  • digs and turns over the soil by hand; handpicks weed roots and bugs -- engaged in the day-to-day functioning of the organization; possibly a micro-manager
  • Uses a motorized tiller -- efficient; seeks power
  • uses organic gardening methods -- concerned about healthy relationships and team building
  • uses fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides -- efficient, possibly ruthless, needs to be in control; any means to an end
  • Doesn't keep up with the weeding -- dislikes the dirty work; disorganized
  • Doesn't keep up with the watering -- lacks focus and disorganized; possibly incompetent
  • Plantings are not suited to climatic zone or recommended planting dates -- lacks appropriate knowledge; doesn't do background research; poor planner
  • Plants the same thing every year according to schedule -- solid and dependable, but lacks creativity and vision
And so on. Do you have any to add here?

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Little Weed Patch

Here's dirt under the finger nails; planting is the best part of all! You can catch a little glimpse of the composting area and the greenhouse in behind.