Roar of the Dandelion: Resiliency and Ingenuity
#1 Thing You Need to Learn From This:
To navigate these uncertain times, you can learn from the humble dandelion by drawing from a deep tap root and contributing many small offerings to these winds of change.
A More Detailed Exploration:
Thanks to the COVID19 pandemic, this was the first spring in a long time that I remember having the opportunity to observe it unfold slowly and deliberately. Along the Wabash River in west central Indiana, March and April were mixed bags of cold winter-like weeks with only intermittent warmth before May and June rolled up with summer temperatures.
Fields of dandelions bring a smile to face and joy in my heart, even if it’s my yard. I know dandelions are quite good for honeybees and they are super resilient plants that add to the biodiversity of the yard. I didn’t have a yard to mow this year but in years past I took the “only the resilient survive” strategy and saved a ton on my water bill without sacrificing the green of a yard (albeit non-uniform green).
Even if you have already started to pen a fiery retort, I encourage you to take a deep breath and hear me out on this. I think you can learn some key insights to employ as a leader of people. Namely, dandelions show why it’s important to have a deep tap root and share lot of small contributions.
Deep Tap Root
If you’ve ever decided to eliminate dandelions from your life, I bet you learned quickly you have to dig deep to pull them out by the root. It’s the most sure fire way of removal that doesn’t include chemicals. Even if you pull the top part of the plant up, it will return quickly in defiance.
How do you grow your tap root deeper? You’re in luck. I created the five video “Feed Your Roots Today” series three weeks into the pandemic and you can watch them all here.
I’ll even make it easier for you by embedding the first video here:
Share Lots of Small Insights
Remember as a small child plucking the stems of a dandelion flower that had gone to seed and blowing your wishes to the air? As you lead your team through this Great Disruption, you’ll find it helps to emulate those memories by finding many ways to offer each team member ongoing encouragement.
Most people working within large organizations haven’t had to deal with this level of uncertainty and tenuousness that has enveloped us. Leaders who understand they need to check in with their team members often and find many small ways to help them navigate their daily challenges will find better success than those who focus on spaced out large insights.
Each person is unique and has different strengths and needs. Find ways to listen them and encourage them in the ways that matters most to them. You’ll find being heard and seen makes a big difference to those who are living in uncertainty.
What Can You Do About This as a Leader?
Watch the Feed Your Roots series
Check-in with each of your team members for 10-minutes each week and ask them how you can you help best that week. Listen, reflect, and then co-brainstorm on solutions.
Remember to put your own oxygen mask on first!
You might just discover new opportunities or previously overlooked challenges.
What’s missing? What would you add or amend?
