The five things I learned about talent-planning and leadership from working in the Landscaping Industry

I started my journey with BrightView almost two years ago and for the first year, I racked up over 100,000 airplane miles travelling out to the field. I was humbled to walk with our technical crews and to view our product from the ‘street level.”

What I noticed first, was the passion our employees have for the earth and its beauty; but also I noticed the variety of plants, gardens, trees, shrubs and lawns that our large variety of client sites are proud to call home. What impressed me the most was the care that each employee gave to their assigned properties and I noticed that they spent countless hours planning the type of plants and flowers that were not only visually a work of art; but sustainable in the climate of the local community.

From South Florida (with drought) to Seattle (with too much water) to Houston, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Denver and many cities in between; I noticed the careful artistry and attention to detail that went into the design, development, care and maintenance of a commercial landscape. In several locations, the smell of the flowers and plants actually brought me to tears, remembering a time in my childhood when I would play in a garden that had similar smells. It was an emotional experience and one that our clients and their customers, employees and residents share.

Before I joined this company, I didn’t know there were licensed “Tree Doctors.” I didn’t know plants are social creatures. They prefer the company of specific types of plants, trees or flowers over others. I didn’t know the impact of irrigation on a major sports field (the turf water saturation can actually impact the players ability); or that the maintenance of a golf course requires measuring the grass with a ruler. I didn’t notice the artistry of a seasonal flower bed, outdoor lighting or indoor landscaping which is breathtaking to see during the holiday season and adds to the ambiance as much as the music in a movie.

Before BrightView, a landscape was just the smell of fresh cut grass in the spring and something pretty to look at as you drive or walk past a property. Today, I see it as artistry and science. Like talent-planning and leadership.

What I started to realize is how similar creating a landscape is to designing a talent strategy and building high performing teams. The care and feeding which goes into developing a flower garden or commercial landscape is similar to making sure your company has a beautiful mix of talent, from a wide variety of ages, races, backgrounds, skills, talents, behaviors and passions. 

It is no longer enough to “plant” a beautiful garden (or hire an experienced team); but just as important to maintain it, prune it, water it and make sure you are paying attention to how the flowers and plants relate to each other and their environment.

I found there are five key areas to borrow from nature when growing your business and work teams:

1. Test your soil. When you are working on your talent planning for this upcoming year; think about your work environment.

What type of medium (dirt) do you grow your talent in?

Is your work place innovative or traditional?

Do you encourage the sharing of new ideas or do you follow past practices and legacy systems?

Are teams collaborative, self-directed or compliant?

Do you value years of service or a consultant mentality?

Is your work space open, virtual or closed door conference rooms and cubes?

All of these factors may influence employees in different ways so you want to be prepared. It helps to be aware of how this will affect your talent and productivity in advance of new initiatives or product launches.

If you are about to enhance your organizational landscape or develop new business channels; you may want to have early adapters, peer-coaches and motivators to lead the charge (and act as a trellis of support) for employees who may be resistant to change. If you don’t already have influential employees to act in this capacity, you may want to add it to your list of qualifications and behaviors to interview for (both current team members and incoming candidates).

A wise investment, prior to any change or business adjustment is a departmental event, focus group or function which allows good conversation about what team members would like to see start, stop and continue in the new year. Listen and observe teams together and separately while taking detailed notes to effectively dig deep into your proverbial dirt.

2. Understand the Climate/Weather. When designing your staffing plans; try not to place too much emphasis on technical skills as this may stifle the growth of your teams. 

Climbing plants need a trellis to grow up, while flower beds need room to grow out. By strategically planting flowers (people) which need lots of hydration, next to succulent plants that don’t; you can set up a balanced approach to make sure that both types of plants have their needs met to thrive.

The best way to do this, when designing work teams, is to learn about behaviors, motivators and social characteristics of the people who have the technical background, knowledge or the ability to develop them in others. 

When reading resumes, start at the bottom to see where your candidates have come from professionally and educationally to understand their growth needs and potential. Review their hobbies, skills and interests. If they don’t list them on their resume or application; look them up on social media to see if they are part of any volunteer groups or social enterprises.

What can they contribute to your team and business, past their skills and technical experience?

Make sure you develop interview questions which uncover the environment that person needs to flourish and thrive. Then make sure you place your team in the work space that is most suitable for day to day team growth (if they are chatty, pair them up with someone quiet so they can learn and observe the opposite quality from each other; or someone with key knowledge and experience should sit next to a newbie).

Virtual teams require as many touch points, connectors and ways to interact as brick and mortar work groups. They actually need more in some cases. Host virtual events, lunch and learns (send them a coupon to buy lunch to take to their desk for the meeting), mentorships, peer-coaching channels and team challenges (where team members compete for cool rewards and certifications) to liven up and engage your work groups and foster fun and collaboration.

Also, avoid giving a challenge to the team which you are not willing to do yourself. You should participate fully along-side your work teams. “Out of sight” should only mean fantastic, never “out of mind.”

3. Select a variety of plant types and flowers. Did you ever stay in a hotel or a resort where they have a lawn and a border hedge only?

You may not remember it because it doesn’t make for a very interesting property.

The ones with a beautiful variety of color, plant life, stone edging, fountains and enhancements are the ones you tell people about. They are the ones which attract families year after year, wedding photographers and celebrities who have a choice of where to stay.

This is the same with strategically mixing work groups with a variety of cultures, backgrounds and experiences to share. 

Clients and customers enjoy interacting with people who can say good morning in their own language (whether it is Swahili or “(b)(z)oomer”) or is from their same or similar place of origin. Multi-gender, multi-cultural, multi-language, multi-generational and multi-economic work teams create color and texture to your business landscape.

They can provide you with valuable insight on what matters to the people who are going to buy your product or service. You remember people who remind you of your family members and friends, home town or home country. People are sentimental when they are reminded of their childhood; or become nostalgic of another time in their life after speaking with someone with a similar story to tell. Interacting with a person from their “home” culture creates emotions and people make purchasing decisions based on their heart strings all the time.

In fact, if all things are equal in a product or service, and the price is competitive, the emotional factor is what will sway a decision to buy. 

How does that product or service make them feel? 

People buy from people, and remember the military veteran in your call center who told them a story of the opportunity your company gave them to grow a skill; or the disabled person they watched make a delivery who was provided with an accommodation to learn to do productive work with dignity. 

They also remember the arrogant employee who did not provide them with a good product or customer experience and they remember to tell all of their friends and family about that too.

This is also true for your employees and work environments. A diverse culture creates a beautiful work place and one that attracts even more beauty with its vibrancy. High performing employees typically gravitate towards employers who offer an energizing and colorful environment; especially if their wages are not on the higher end of the range.

4. Different plants thrive in different soil and climates. Do you find a way to create rotating assignments to help improve your workplace “soil?”

Do you give perennial plants the same favorable conditions to grow back year after year?

Did you tuck your beds in with straw and mulch during the off-season months; or did you leave them out in the snow in the cold months, and then wonder why they are sick and reluctant to bloom when the sun comes back out?

If one of your flower types starts to wither in direct sunlight, perhaps you want to move them to the shade?

If you are over-watering, perhaps you try giving that plant some drier soil and see if they flourish?

A strong leader, not only hires for a variety of skill sets, backgrounds, educational, cultural and work experiences; but makes sure that they are a careful “gardener” of people and teams. They spend time watching and listening to what makes them grow and thrive; then give them the room and right climate to do their very best.

This is the place where a leader can differentiate themselves from others and show their true brain, heart and courage.

Rotating and stretch assignments only work well for some team members. Not everyone wants to move up the ladder. Some employees like consistency and repetitive work and should be rewarded for this, not criticized because they have no interest in a promotion or the corner office. Again, this goes back to the placement of your team members and work groups. A leader is responsible to make sure their team’s comfort comes before their own.

Make sure you customize the work space and your leadership style (from the front or behind) for each person on your team and think about their needs to thrive, not your own preferences. This is one of the most critical ways to support your team and worth standing up to the company space planner or your own leadership team if you must. Plants quickly die if they are not given the right soil and climate.

Anyone who has ever tried to grow herbs indoors has learned this the hard way. Invest in your team’s comfort. Your business and customers will thank you.

5. Remember to weed and prune. I believe both plants and people need not only watering in the right amounts, with sufficient space and sunlight; but also pruning from time to time, to encourage them to grow in the right direction for them. Also, remember to remove any toxic soil conditions; as well as weed out unfavorable plants that choke the flowers and trees in your garden.

This is the same with people, teams and work environments. You can hire the right people, give them the right conditions to improve; but if you neglect the right amount of coaching, mentoring and directing them in the best direction, your business will soon become messy.

In addition, make sure you coach your unpleasant and disengaged team members. Have fierce, but constructive conversations with them and learn what is causing them to have a poor attitude. Work with them and your own leaders to address their concerns and make improvements where you can. Turning around a poor or harmful situation; fosters loyalty, trust and commitment from your team.

Never ignore a weed infested garden. If unpleasant and toxic employees are encouraged to spread their negativity (and you support it by joining in or doing nothing), this will reflect poorly on your own ability to deliver a peaceful, serene and environmentally pleasant setting to the rest of your team. Make it a priority to spend time carefully pruning and weeding your work groups and teams to keep them in top condition.

Your workplace should be one that attracts diverse customers and new team members with the beautiful mix of vibrant colors and textures from happy and productive people. This is truly worth the investment to help your business grow and thrive. I challenge you to spend some time walking your corporate (or business) property and notice the landscape. You may be surprised by what you find.