LOVE to 'Spring' into ACTION?

Welcome to Seeds 4 Growth issue #16!

In each issue, I will use the “Higher Power of 4’s” to provide 4 “seeds” within a particular topic designed to inspire individuals, teams, and organizations to find purpose in fulfilling their true growth potential. And by doing so, grow leaders into living legacy builders who can make a positive, lasting impact in the world.

Within my #1 Best-Selling book, The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder (NOW available as an audiobook on Amazon!), I outline a holistic model for purposeful growth that features a LEAF as a natural symbol of growth as well as an acronym (Leadership, Engagement, Accountability, and Fulfillment) to help grow you 4-ward at work. As found in nature as well as in life, we go through various seasons of growth, transformation, harvest and regeneration.

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

— Albert Einstein

Some of you have asked me how I developed a connection between nature and humans as the foundation for “revolutionary” growth—both personally and professionally—to help us thrive within this new world of work.

My epiphany came in one of my darkest hours—literally and figuratively—when I woke with a jolt one February morning at dawn the day after a significant life event. I stumbled out of bed, rubbed the sleep from my weary eyes, opened the back door to let the dog out, and there—just beginning to take shape on the tip of a branch of our once-dormant fig tree…

I saw a leaf!

Now, I admit that observation doesn’t seem very profound since the world is filled with leaves of all shapes, sizes, textures, and colors growing from a wide variety of trees, plants, and flowers. But that lone leaf, which had been a bud only a few days earlier and now glistened with dew in the dim glow of daybreak, was evidence that winter would soon give way to spring. Ahh…nature!

Who knew this simple, natural, transformative growth process could have such a huge effect on my life—and, hopefully, your life as well?

You see, a leaf is a natural symbol of organic growth—like its source of life, a leaf “revolves” around the sun through a cycle of 4 seasons: spring—a time for planting seeds and establishing roots; summer—a time for growth and development; fall—a time for transformation and harvest; and winter—a time for rest, pruning, and regeneration in preparation for the “revolutionary” rebirth that follows once again…in spring!

Life in any form goes through its seasons. And make no mistake, we humans are not so different from a tree with roots, a trunk, branches, a system of nourishment, and life-giving leaves. A tree needs to be planted in fertile soil and given the right balance of water, sunshine, oxygen, and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis to occur, all while being carefully pruned and nurtured by a loving hand to bear the ripest fruit, and thus, fulfill its growth potential.

Similarly, we humans all go through many different seasons and experience the very same growth dynamics exhibited in nature—intertwined within God’s creation—as we seek to find and serve his purpose for our lives. And the inner work we must do to grow can get pretty messy before we fully blossom.

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out, and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”

— Cynthia Occelli

Within the 4 LEAF GROWTH model is a direct link to the primary elements of plants where each represents a revolutionary process for attaining growth in neither isolated or linear ways, but indeed holistic and integrated. This harmonious balance simply must take place for a given plant to fulfill its growth potential. It also suggests a specific season represented by each of the 4 organic growth processes. As with the structure and stability any plant needs, we must, of course, start with a seed, which will begin establishing a root system.

In nature, seeds are scattered from a healthy, fruit-bearing plant to produce new plants nearby or wherever the wind may blow them. Given its warmer weather and ample rain, spring is the perfect time for seeds to germinate in the soil and establish their roots.

Spring is a season of growth and rebirth as plants and trees awaken from the slumber of winter as part of nature’s annual miracle. And new seeds are planted to stimulate new growth opportunities, much like we experience in our own lives and careers.

As a subscriber to this newsletter, you know I strongly believe in the power of words. Yes indeed, words DO matter. However, I also subscribe to the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words”—and DO is very much an “action” word.

Early in my career as a marketing executive, I learned a simple framework to help grow a healthy brand through profitable sales-driving messaging techniques:

Think = Rational (“What problem does this brand solve for me?”)

Feel = Emotional (“How does this brand make me feel?”)

Do = Transactional (“What actions should I take toward this brand?”)

This was traditionally thought of as somewhat linear and sequential in nature. That makes sense.

Over time and experience—along with the advent of digital/social media, loyalty programs and product review sites that provide opportunities for deeper levels of engagement and two-way, interactive dialogue—I added a fourth element: Relate.

In my definition, relate has two different, but very interrelated meanings connection with taking action.

First, as a brand builder, we know that it is always easier to sell more to an existing customer/guest as opposed to attracting a new one. Thus, we must employ a personalized approach to build a lasting, trusting and loving “relationship” with our customer/guest as opposed to merely an impersonal one-off transaction that is here today, gone tomorrow.

This happens by intentional action, not by random accident.

Second, we know that getting a satisfied customer/guest to refer your brand to others in their network via “word-of-mouth” is the most sincere, credible and productive way to ensure future brand growth. Who would even think about making a major purchase decision without consulting the customer reviews of a brand’s product or service, right?

This happens by our action, not our words.

Finally, instead of a linear, sequential approach, I believe this updated Think, Feel, Do and Relate brand building model is actually very much integrated (think 4-circle Venn diagram)—all revolving around Purposeful Growth at its epicenter. In this case, both Think and Feel dimensions are internally focused and thought-provoking; whereas both Do and Relate dimensions are externally focused and action-oriented.

In many trees like the mighty oak, the root system serves as a strong foundation. In fact, the root system of a mature oak tree splays out underground as roughly a mirror image of its scenic canopy high above. To support the growth of this magnificent tree, the root system must be long, strong, and highly productive in delivering enough water and nutrients from the soil to nourish the leaves and fruit.

Likewise, the undeniable foundations for the growth of any individual, team, or organization are the purposeful “seeds” and strong “roots” of leadership.

How can we apply these same corporate brand building techniques to help you enhance your personal leadership brand—growing you from a Doer to a Manager to a Leader to a “living” Legacy Builder?

“Quite simply, our success is measured in what others achieve.”

— Gary Burnison, CEO, Korn-Ferry

Management skills and abilities provide a foundational competency for business success; however, managers today have to learn how to become leaders their team wants to follow. But the real transformational growth comes when leaders become legacy builders whom their team members want to emulate themselves. This creates a "ripple effect" that will develop communities of belonging as opposed to merely cultures of uniformity. This is a revolutionary approach that will take time to take seed, establish roots and grow over time.

“There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen—to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood.”

— David Brooks

To grow a successful relationship with one’s team members, a purposeful leader’s approach must be “rooted” in LOVE.

We have to be comfortable bringing LOVE into workplace. No, I’m not talking about the kind of love that will get you a quick call from HR and escorted out of the building. I’m talking about harnessing arguably the most important emotion in human history—the need to feel seen and heard, valued and empowered to grow into the very best version of ourselves.

Seeds 4 Growth

Leaders can learn how to grow into “living” Legacy Builders by taking action— employing some very basic and simple human characteristics to help them LOVE their team members:

L isten – Graciously. Means “Pleasantly kind, benevolent and curious.” Ask good questions and don’t just hear, but actively listen to the answers. Listen on a deeper, more empathetic level to not only what is said, but possibly what is not being said. You never know what may be going on in a team member’s personal life.

O bserve – Generously. Means investing a generous portion of one’s time, talents, resources and experiences to coach, mentor and encourage a team member in “real-time.” Don’t wait for the dreaded Annual Performance Appraisal which nobody likes nor does very well. And the word "Appraisal” sounds like someone is a piece of real estate or something, right?

V alue – Gratefully. Means feeling or showing appreciation; expressing a sense of gratitude and thankfulness. Value the whole person by giving them opportunities to learn and grow. This creates a deep sense of self-worth in your team members for the role they play on the team for shared success.

E mpower – Generatively. Means providing the power or function of generating, originating or producing. When someone feels empowered, it’s like the feeling we all had when we first learned to ride a bike. Such confidence boosting energy with a new-found sense of freedom and fulfillment!

The new world of work is changing... on purpose.

Let’s put the “Human” back in Human Resources.

If you are interested in learning how you, your team, or your organization can find purpose in fulfilling your true growth potential, I would be delighted to work with you. Please visit my website at https://www.MarkAMears.com and take the free Purposeful Growth Self-Assessment to get started.

What are you waiting for? Let’s get GROWING!

The Purposeful Growth Revolution is ON!

Are you IN?