The Mother Tree: What Nature Can Teach Us About True Leadership

The older I get, and the more I learn (and unlearn) about organic systems, the more I tune in to nature as a model for how things could be. There are endless examples of reciprocity, symbiosis, and mathematical principles in nature that could guide us; nature’s models are radically different from our own culture that embraces hierarchy, prioritizes individualism, and beliefs that life is a competition, and resources are in short supply.??

Ecologically, this is false.?

Over the past 50 years, Western forest science has discovered what Indigenous nations have known for centuries: the forest is connected. The largest trees are not the most dominant -- they are actively working for the good of others. Using an underground network of roots and fungi known as the mycorrhizal network, these maternal caretakers pass along sugar and nutrients to their kin seedlings throughout the forest. They do not dominate. They protect.??

They are affectionately known as Mother Trees.?

I have returned to the lessons of the Mother Tree more than once in the past several months. Now, as we approach Earth Day, I believe it serves as a model for anyone engaged in leadership. It applies to supervisors. It applies to mentors. It applies to after-school staff and to summer camp counselors.? In each of these instances, the role of the Mother Tree is not to control. Nor is it to ensure a single tree’s survival at the cost of the entire forest. It is to pay attention. It is to offer support. It is to share its resources with others, when they are needed, recognizing that different people, as with different trees, need different kinds of support.?

Mother Trees live in old growth forests, amidst a bounty of biodiversity. It is this very abundance of life that allows them to be so generous. In a tree plantation, where all the tree species are identical, the soil is almost always degraded and there is limited wildlife. If a single tree gets sick, the disease spreads to all and their lifespan is brief. This is because there are no Mother Trees.??

Camp Fire has also always understood, and valued, biodiversity. Like old growth forests, we have developed slowly, over time (114 years to be exact). We have continually changed course and adapted. We recognize that multiple perspectives, identities, and voices lead to greater wisdom. We take our strength from the complexity, beauty, and uniqueness of the many stories that make up our history. We use what we have, and have learned, to keep growing.???

In a federated organization like Camp Fire, affiliates are spread out across the country, each managing their own boards, hiring, budgets, programs, and practices. Yet they remain connected. They communicate, share resources, and bolster as needed. They participate in Communities of Practice designed to foster individual growth, and the growth of the forest. In this affiliated system, National Headquarters serves as a Mother Tree. NHQ diverts dollars, not nitrogen, but its role is similar. NHQ does not exist to be dominant. It exists to serve, and protect, the Camp Fire network.??

Forest Ecologists have lately discovered that when a Mother Tree is ill or injured, she uses the mycorrhizal network to send what some might call dying messages across the whole of the forest. Imbedded within these messages are stores of knowledge and additional nutrients that will ensure the forest will survive and thrive for generations to come. Ancient trees have been found in old growth forests that are still living, supported by former kin seedlings now grown into mighty trees.??

What is your leadership legacy? How can you incorporate the wisdom of the forest in your professional life? How are you bringing life to those around you??

Happy #EarthDay!?