Leadership Quote - Alexander den Heijer

Created by Erin Morey

My wife is a bit of an amateur gardener, and since we recently moved we've started discussing how to build raised flower/gardening beds. One of the larger concerns when gardening is the quality of the soil. You amend the soil with compost, lime, and other materials to make it a better medium for growth. It can be critically important to adjust the soil, as the wrong pH balance can kill the plants, and plants grow better in different types of soil.

What about your team? Are you giving them a rich and fertile place to grow, or is it barren and destitute? Do you provide the team nutrients and opportunities to grow (compliments, recognition, challenging assignments) or do you constantly dig up or neglect the seeds? As Dutch Speaker Alexander den Heijer identified:

When A Flower Doesn't Bloom, You Fix The Environment In Which It Grows, Not The Flower.

- Alexander den Heijer

Pretty simple this week. Are you trying to address the environment your team is in or are you trying to address the team? In real life you probably need to pay attention to both, however, if the environment isn't conducive to the growth of the team, then the team members won't grow or bloom.