How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? 

Mine does not. Not because I don't have a green thumb because frankly, I have not given it a try. I do not have a garden. I think about putting one in, a lot. I talk about putting one in, you know, starting small and building over the years; picture how one would look driving up the driveway with our newly sided house, new roof, new windows and stone front; imagine the welcome some shrubs, perennials and annuals would provide our river friends as they pull up to the dock and walk the long walk up the stairs to our house; visit greenhouses with my daughter and leave with no more than a few potted plants.; jot down ideas from other homes that I'd like to have at mine. Do you get that I really want a garden? Wrong :) 

I really love the idea of a garden but I don't really want one.  I want the beauty, the butterflies, the colors, the fragrances. I don't want the weeding, the pruning, the watering, the general overall maintenance. I think I should have one - everyone does and, well, you have heard about curb appeal. Heck, on the river road we don't even have curbs! Bottom line, I don't want the obligation. So starting today, I am putting away the "should" and being ok with the ways thing are.

How many things do we do as leaders, and as people, because we think we should do them? How much stress do we let the "should" create for ourselves? For others? Think about what is important to you, what directions do you want to go personally and professionally and ditch the things that do not support you. In other words, sit back, relax and let the weeds grow.

Personal or Positional Power

Some leaders fall short of my expectations. When they fall short for me, it is not necessarily in their abilities or potential, but they fall short in making what I think is such a very important and necessary distinction. The distinction between personal power and positional power.

Without getting into the many, many writings on this topic let me just sum it up in one general statement - you can have personal power without positional power and conversely, be given positional power without first having personal power. So, what comes first? What should come first? Does it matter?

Personal vs. positional power is not a "chicken or the egg" question for me. Best case is a leader with both positional and personal power but that is not always the case and when I can't have both, personal trumps positional for me every time. While positional power will only get you so far in the long run, personal power will take you as far as you want to go. 

As you look around an organization, you will typically see many combinations of personal and positional power. My favorites are the works in progress. The works in progress are my new leaders who are trying to figure this all out to be the best they can be for themselves, for others and for the organization. When someone steps into a leadership role without personal power, can they develop it? Absolutely but not with certainty and definitely not without a willingness to learn, develop and grow. It will not always be easy but worth it in the end.

So, how do I get this across to my junior and senior leaders and my works in progress alike?