Ican Grow People - Views from the Globe

[Jason Stevens]

We have been sowing some Ican grow People seeds on a few professional Learning & Development Forums. Here are some thoughts from people from all over the globe. It seems that the gardening metaphor works from Manchester to Mumbai!

It all started with this post...

Why is Growing People like Growing Plants?
Your challenge is to identify 10 ways of linking people management with plant management.

Given all the right circumstances, plants will grow. People are the same – they require the nurturing and environment to flourish in the workplace as plants do in the garden. A good gardener has many of the qualities of a good manager. They are both committed to getting the best out of their ‘garden’ and giving their ‘plants’ every opportunity to thrive.

Here is just a flavour of the gardeners approach to management (From Ican Grow People™):

A Gardeners “style or type” is one of nurture and people / plant focus balanced with completing tasks ... which relates quite nicely to X – Y style management theory.

You can’t just shout at plants and expect them to grow!

You can’t neglect your plants and expect them to thrive.

Gardeners need the skills and knowledge required to be successful – the accidental gardener (or manager) – learn as you go along is not good, or effective on confidence or the impact it has on others

Successful gardeners have a passion and desire to improve their skills, do better and achieve more next time.

Gardeners accept that mistakes will be made but will learn from them and apply different strategies for next year / season.

Gardeners understand that all plants are different and have differing needs.

Gardeners use the right tools at the right time and in the right way. A manager has tools in the shape of processes and skills.

Gardeners are not afraid to deal with underperformance... they manage the garden free from worry and guilt.

Gardeners like to show off their success stories and prize veg. Every businesses has prize veg.

Gardeners prevent / get rid of slugs and pests at the earliest opportunity.

Managers prepare the soil, climate and surroundings to give each plant the best chance to do well.

Gardeners lay paths for direction and order.

Gardeners have a succession of plants to replace plants who have wilted, died (or have been stolen).

Gardeners have patience...they don’t expect results overnight.

Gardeners can't change the weather but can prepare for frosts and storms.

A “natural” gardener has “green fingers”... some managers suit the role of people management better than others. Some gardeners will never have green fingers and some managers will never be good managers!

So…

Why is induction like a greenhouse?

Why is moving plants like preparing to move people through change?

Why is managing the performance of a sunflower from seed – to seeds like managing the performance of people?

Why is teamwork like cross pollination?

Why is selecting the right seeds and plants for your garden like recruitment and selection in business?

Ican Grow People™ - For blooming great people results, through Ican Development – The People Development Company.

Can there be a more effective and memorable way to get managers to understand their role and the impact they have on people to achieve results? “Ican Grow People™” is a great place to be if you want to make management a simple process to understand and act upon.

Ican Grow People™ brings the gardening metaphor to life. The innovative management development programmes germinate the essentials of management for managers of huge gardens or those with tiny window boxes. This programme really works at all levels!

For more information about the Ican Grow People™ management development programmes, visit http://icangrowpeople.ning.com or http://www.icandevelopment.co.uk



Well done summary.

I use this analogy regularly in mentoring.

Thanks for posting Jason.

Tracy E. L. Poured
President & Creative Director, Qualia Productions. Healthcare System Alchemist. Strategist. Leader.

Very interesting post. This will be very benifical in explaining people development skills and needs to new managers. Printed and put aside to be used liberally. Thanks

Robert F Tiffany, Sr.
Project Manager / Director of Development at FHG Enterprises, Inc

Very nice Jason,
Might I add:
you will not grow healthy plants if you dig them up every week to measure the roots.
successful cultivation requires weeding, thinning, and pruning. We need to help people by removing the distractions (weeds) that sap nutrients. Plants need enough space to grow else they get into unhealthy competition. Effective growth needs coaching (to prune and focus the work effort)
Bureaucracy is like Kudzu

Looking forward to reading your book
Carl Roetter
Manager Leadership Development at 3M

I've used the comparison of people to a random mix of seeds. Some seeds we can readily identify, like an acorn or sunflower seed, and see their potential as an oak tree or tall, bright flower. Other seeds may not be known by their appearance but may equally have some fantastic potential if developed properly.

Jeff
Jeff Williams
Experienced Business/Managment Consultant - Project Professional

Great post! I think it is easy for managers to get caught up in the goals of day to day operations and neglect tending to their "garden." This is a simple and clear reminder of the importance of constantly building up your greatest assets, your people.
Dr. Shannon Reece, Business and Performance Coach
The only business coach who can create winning strategies for women who compete in a man's world.

One item I think is missing from your list - gardeners also have to occasionally weed the garden. Sometimes, the most beautiful plants that thrive the best are actually insidious weeds. If left untamed or unremoved, they can quickly spread their roots, take over the garden, and kill all of the carefully planted, nurtured and healthy plants the gardener is tending, denying him the future bounty of his work.

Likewise, a manager and leader sometimes has to make a decision to remove people from the organization. If one doesn't pay attention, he may not notice the the "weed" until it has taken over the team and negatively impacted their productivity and goal achievement.

Eleanor Biddulph
Executive Vice President, Client Services at Progressive Medical, Inc.

Interesting...Gardening vs Managing. One thing that sticks out for me is that a gardener never wants to be a plant, but many times the manager will get so involved in the day to day, they become workers. Keeping their eyes on the big picture is what makes managers valuable, but if they are mired in the muck of the daily operations, they miss the opportunity to recongize areas for improvement.

Tom Tower
Transmission and Substation Supervisor at The United Illuminating Company