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
