It’s a poor gardener whose only harvest is produce and an unambitious leader whose only harvest is dollars, however abundant her yields may be.

Whether the zucchini did well this year, or the figs never ripened last, the interrelationship of the gardener and the garden, like of the leader and the organization, is by far the most sustainable crop. This mutuality is also the laboratory in which we observe the life cycle — from sprout to bud to blossom to fruit to seed to decay — revealing itself to us in elegant simplicity.

Gardening, like leading, is mostly an act of faith. Though persistent plants we call weeds thrive in remarkably unpromising circumstances — erupting in rock-hard, sun-baked soil through imperceptible concrete cracks — explicitly choosing what we want to grow takes more than dirt or determination. When we root out problems rather than fixate on eliminating symptoms, we cultivate ground for new growth.

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been,
I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there,
and I am prepared to expect wonders.
~ Henry David Thoreau

Supporting the conditions in which the life we choose to nourish will take root — in our yards as well as our work lives and workplaces — might require space, soil, seeds, water, light, imagination, education, research, planning, creativity, resourcefulness, community, tools, commitment, labor, collaboration, trust, and attention.

Hard, rocky dirt, with the addition of mulch and aeration, becomes home to soil-enriching earthworms. Old trees, with proper pruning and compost, once again bear delicious fruit. Perennially wet areas, thoughtfully surrounded by swales, redistribute once standing water across the landscape. A problem recognized as symptomatic of a larger pattern is the key that unlocks greater productivity. An underperforming team, encouraged to try new approaches, turns into an inspiring model for others. An organization stretched for dollars mines rich veins of hidden resources when it taps the collaborative capacity of its employees.

For those who make the effort to pay attention, the most profound harvest of any collaborative enterprise — from growing veggies to nurturing a successful organization — is learning. While in the West we think of learning mostly as the training ground of expertise, in many other parts of the world, learning is at least as much about cultivating humility and not-knowing.            

Right now my life is just one learning experience after another.
By the end of the week I should be a genius.
~ Jeanette Osias

Since learning opportunities are infinite, and geniuses are not, evidently at least some of us aren’t harvesting the vast crops of learning around us much of the time!

Any gardener who lasts beyond a season or two becomes very familiar with the taste of humility and not-knowing, and may be very surprised one day to find that something once avoided has turned into a welcome gift. Even master gardeners, the experts we so admire and may aspire to become, experience certain things producing well one year and not the next. You can carefully amend the soil, measure the hours of sunlight, plant whatever deer don’t eat*, diligently apply tried-and-true principles of a particular gardening system, and find that, however much expertise you have accrued, there is always more to learn.

* Unless, of course, the deer in your neighborhood, like mine, either don’t read these lists or ignore them!

When so rich a harvest is before us, why do we not gather it?
All is in our hands if we will but use it.
~ Elizabeth Ann Seton

Successful gardeners, whether tilling soil in the backyard or the front office, pay attention to what’s happening — to the leaves or the balance sheet, in the soil or one’s soul — and make adjustments accordingly, all the while knowing that:

  • it is wiser to work with, rather than against, the laws of nature (garden books and employee handbooks notwithstanding);
  • not everything can be anticipated, and even if anticipated, cannot be controlled;
  • learning is always a choice.

Is your current harvest nourishing you? Breaking new ground opens up more space and possibility for growth. What would you like to grow now?

Every man has his own patch of earth to cultivate.
What’s important is that he dig deep.
~ José Saramago


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