We can learn from Flowers.
But not usually leadership lessons.
Here’s one…
Flowers are part of a plant’s reproductive process. They’re vital to the creation of new organisms.
They’re also temporary.
Many flowers come and go over the life of the tree.
Cherry blossoms get a lot of attention but they’re not the cherry tree. The tree lives on well after any given flower disappears.
Flowers don’t help their own tree, they help the forest.
The impermanence of flowers isn’t their main lesson for leaders however.
Flowers do 2 things.
The first is well known. Flowers attract.
Bees, wasps, birds. Things that can help the plant reproduce by spreading pollen.
They attract good things.
The second is less known. Flowers deter.
Other insects, wind or low temperatures. Things that can harm.
They deter bad things.
Just like flowers, a balanced leader attracts good things and deters bad.
Good leaders do this instinctively.
Binary thinkers try to choose between good and bad so they can avoid the bad.
Balanced leaders know that every decision they make has good and bad in it.
Good leaders work to attract good things and deter bad things, knowing that over time their efforts will bear fruit.
They know every decision is a balancing act, that either helps or hinders.
Balance isn’t an abstract thing, it’s achieved over time.
Every decision counts but the cumulative effects count more.
Leaders aren’t like flowers, but their decisions are.
“ a balanced leader attracts good things and deters bad..,”
Many decisions pass in the life of a leader, even more in the life of an organization.
Business decisions get a lot of attention but they’re not the business. The business lives on well after any given decision disappears.
Do you think about the balance you’re creating over time?
You know that not everything you do is right. Or wrong.
Every small decision that attracts a good thing, or deters a bad thing, counts.
