Are you a decent Plant Manager? - Some people gardening tips here to prune your skills.

[Jason Stevens]

A gardener’s general behavioural style is one of nurture for the plant (people focused) balanced with  a strong desire to complete tasks and achieve results (the gardening calendar or “To Do” list). Focus too much on one or the other and both will suffer.

Are you more Task or People focused? How flexible are you to focus on the task in hand or the needs of the people depending on the situation you are faced with?

 

 

You can’t just shout and push plants around and expect them to grow. The irate, forceful and bullying manager will get nowhere except for an Industrial Tribunal. The old style of managing performance is dead. People generally won’t tolerate a lack of respect and bullish tactics. They will leave you in the end (not the company).

How would your plants describe you when you are under pressure or feeling stressed?

 

 

You can’t neglect your plants and expect them to thrive and do well. Some plants, like people are hardier than others and will be okay for a while but our basic motivations are to be needed, wanted and cared for – even in work!

How cared for do your people feel? What do you say and do that shows you genuinely do care?

 

 

Gardeners need the skills and knowledge required to be successful – the accidental gardener – learn as you go along is not ideal but is a good way to learn. The capability to manage the various types and complexities of plants should really be developed before you become responsible for the plant. But how often do you see a manager get the people first and then the development to look after them later! The skills, knowledge and confidence to look after plants should be invested early on to avoid costly mistakes and disasters later.

Do you get the training and development of capability the right way around? If not, then how much effort do you need to put in to catch up?

 

 

Successful gardeners have a passion and desire to improve their skills, do better and achieve more next time, month or season. The same should go for next trading day, week, period or quarter.

Do you demonstrate and ooze a passion for managing people? How engaged and energised are you in the day to day activities of self development? How would your plants describe your verbal and non verbal giveaways?

 

 

Gardeners know when to be hands on and hands off. They prioritise where their time is required and don’t spend all their time acting like a “busy fool”.

How well do you manage your tasks and time? Do you find yourself standing in or taking over and compensating for others lack of capability or drive?

 

 

Gardeners plan for the future and so should Managers. They have a vision of what things will look and be like and what results they will need to achieve to get a great result! They can picture and visualise their perfect scenario. Who, what, where, when, how and why.

Can you see your life and work plan as clearly and as clear as a gardener can see their garden plan? Can you articulate it very easily so that everyone gets what you are saying? Are they convinced that you will achieve it?

 

 

 

Gardeners understand that all plants are different and have differing needs. No two plants are the same. Although they all come from the same family, and their basic motivations to grow are the same. That’s a bit like humans.

Do you understand, recognise, accept and appreciate the differences in your people and your team?

 

 

Gardeners use the right tools at the right time and in the right way. A sensitive approach may require the gardener to use a small trowel instead of a large and cumbersome spade. This will avoid the gardener digging a bigger hole than required. There are many tools to suit many situations and managers need to demonstrate good judgement before picking up and using them.

What are your most useful people skills / tools? Which tools do you use the most and which of your tools are a little rusty, broken or missing?  How do your plants feel about the tools you use? Are there any that they would like to see more, or less of? Are you using any tools in the wrong way, at the wrong time, or in the wrong place?

 

 

Gardeners are not afraid to deal with underperformance and take some tough decisions. That means offering extra support and care for weak plants and sometimes moving or even getting rid of plants to make way for new, up and coming ones that will perform better, or achieve more in the garden.

How well and confidently do you deal with performance, both under and over performance? How do you feel about making tough decisions and giving some negative feedback? How often do you take time out to recognise what is good or going well and show your appreciation for that fact with others?

 

 

Gardeners like to show off their success stories. Prize blooms and prize produce should be made public. People satisfaction comes from making a big deal out of them and showing others what good really does look like.

How do you show off and make a big deal out of your prize blooms and highest yielders?

 

 Gardeners prevent or get rid of slugs and pests at the earliest opportunity. Anything that takes away the motivation to grow from your pants or hinders their ability to do the best they can needs to be dealt with. Prevention is better than cure, but sometimes the only option is to lay down some slug pellets or spray some pesticide and nip the situation in the bud.

Do you have any pests and slugs in your garden? Who? Where? Why are they there? Is this a new problem, did you inherit it or did you create it? How do you deal with them? Prevention is better than cure but how often do you reach for the slug pellets? And have you ever damaged the overall good by wiping out everything with pesticide?

 

 

 Managers prepare the soil, climate and surroundings to give each plant the best chance to do well. A plant won’t do well in dry and heavy clay soil at -5 degrees surrounded by pests and slugs! Would you?

How do you create the right climate and environment for people to grow? What secrets do you have that work? What would be the ideal climate for you and are you the change you want to see regarding the way people think, feel and behave in the workplace?

 

 

 

Gardeners accept that disasters will happen, mistakes will be made. They take responsibility and blame themselves before blaming the plant. They seek to understand what went wrong.  They don’t sulk, spit their dummy out or give in. Like the adult they are, they keep calm and improve the tactics and approach  for next time free from worry and guilt about the past.

How well and easily do you accept, move on, learn and grow from your management mistakes and disasters?

 

 

 

Gardeners lay paths for direction and order. They help the gardener to see what is going on, make the plants easy to get to and provide direction.

What are the paths in your world? How would you describe the state of your career, training, strategy, talent, policy, procedure and exit paths? What other paths are important to you and the way you do business?

 

 

Gardeners have a succession of plants on hand ready to replace plants that have wilted, died, or even stolen. Plants are grown from seeds or cuttings taken from healthy and established plants. For a quick result they will buy in the best plants from the Garden Centre. A good garden has no gaps.

How are you preparing for your people requirements in the future? The requirements you are planning and for the unexpected! What succession plans do you have to fill potential people spaces in your garden?

 

 

Gardeners have patience, they don’t expect results overnight. They know a strong and healthy plant will bloom when they are ready. The ideal garden or plant will be created as new bits take hold and old bits die away.