Palm tree leadership

As with so many tropical storms, news coverage in the wake of Hurricane Ian reported on the widespread and devastating damage. Some accounts I have read spoke of waterfront homes swept into the Gulf of Mexico. Another story focused on the lives lost in three states, the most recent count totaling 128. Other reports have estimated the economic damage in the various states at $75 billion.?

With so many stories focused on the harsh effects of the storm, one that focused on the resilience of nature struck my ear differently. A brief reference to Hurricane Hugo in 1989 caught my attention, prompting me to listen with rapt interest.?

John Burnett, a 36-year veteran correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR), reports on the durability of the palm trees in Fort Myers, Florida. You can read or listen to Burnett’s story with the link below.?

Burnett sets the stage by noting that Ian was the 20th hurricane he has covered for NPR. His first was Hugo. Coming ashore along the coast of South Carolina, Hugo left a long path of destruction that included Cindy’s hometown of Camden, SC, and my hometown of Charlotte.

While Hugo had weakened to a tropical storm before rolling through Charlotte, its damage was still significant. More than 80,000 trees fell in the Queen City, including many of the stately willow oaks that lined streets in the Elizabeth and Myers Park neighborhoods.?

Remembering those reports of so many trees falling more than 30 years ago made Burnett’s story about the royal palms of Fort Myers even more fascinating to me. While a few of the royal palms fell in the fury of Hurricane Ian, the vast majority survived. Most will thrive due to the pruning effect of the hurricane-force winds as they removed the dying fronds from the trees.?

Another reality that makes palm trees, generally, and the royal palm, specifically, so resilient is what is inside the plants. Burnett notes that these royal palms have more in common with grasses than the hardwood trees that cover the landscape of the Piedmont. Rather than rigid growth rings readily observable in the trunk of a hardwood tree that has been cut down, royal palms have a pliable center. Burnett reports that flexible core enables a royal palm to bend as far as 40 to 50 degrees.?

As I listened to Burnett’s report about these royal palms, it was apparent they have something significant to say to leaders.?

The most critical difference in an effective leader is inside us. With only a few exceptions of amorphous organisms like algae, plants of various sizes have the same basic system. The xylem and phloem serve as arteries to carry water and other elements up and down the plant to produce the leaves, fruit, flowers, or nuts that grow on them. In some plants, these are very rigid tubes. The royal palms, however, have a vascular system that bends and flexes and allows the whole tree to do that. Consequently, the royal palm bends rather than breaks under the stress of strong winds.?

If you have served in a leadership role for more than a few days, you have likely encountered a crisis. Some crises loom large, like a hurricane. We see the signs well ahead of its arrival and have time to prepare. Others leap in front of us like a deer emerging suddenly from the woods, running across the highway, necessitating a quick reaction.?

In either case, it is critical for a leader to remain calm, assess the circumstances, and weigh the options to respond well. Like the royal palms, that internal flexibility grows as we grow. And it increases with our exposure to such storms, preparing us for the next one.?

Crises can be good. As Burnett notes, the dying fronds blown from the royal palms by the winds create a significant mess that will burden the city with the necessary cleanup. However, the pruning effect produces a healthier, stronger tree.?

Significant crises are rarely enjoyable for those who lead. I can’t recall a single leader I know who has led a church through difficult divisions, a business through unanticipated and unprecedented economic shifts, or a professional practice through changing regulatory environment saying, “Hey that was fun! I want to do that again!”?

I have, however, heard many say with enough time to reflect and learn from those crises, “Those were hard days, but we are better for it.”

What about you? How do you respond to the ferocity of an unexpected storm? How do you weigh the options quickly to lead your team, business, or church well through a crisis? How are you working to develop flexibility in your leadership today for the storm that may hit tomorrow??

Are you in a storm now? Who can help you reflect and learn from these difficult days? Where is the good you can glean from this moment? What pruning may need to happen? How can you seize the opportunity of this storm to produce a healthier church, more efficient team, or more profitable practice??

Find a trusted friend to explore these questions as you grow in your leadership capacity.?

Enjoy your weekend!?

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/16/1127746570/palm-trees-hurricane-ian-fort-myers-southwest-florida

The views and opinions expressed in my Thursday Thoughts on Leadership are my own. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina or any affiliated churches.