WEED FOR THE FUTURE

Recently my father planted a new layer of cow grass in his garden and after just 2 weeks, I notice weeds had started to grow in the garden. I said to myself, let the grass contractor come in and deal with it, after all, it was still under the contractual agreement of the contractor.

Two weeks later, I was back in the garden again, the grass had been cut and everything looked great. The cow grass was growing. A month later, my dad asked me if I could do some weeding for him, I obliged.

As I wore the big straw hat and look at the task ahead of me, what it was previously and now. I realized that the Gardener is like the CEO of an organization.

Lesson 1: Whatever the situation of the garden, it is up to the Gardener to nurture and develop the garden to the desired outcome. Some want lots of flowers, others fruit trees, others a garden with a nice carpet of grass or even concrete the whole place. Similarly, the CEO of an organization needs to define and communicate to others what is the business of the organization, where it is going, and how we measure the ultimate outcome. Many things will happen along the way, some plants that we grow will die, either way, we change and adapt and continue to plant the garden to the desired outcome.

When I started weeding in the garden, I notice that that the weeds were still in the exact spots I saw previously, they had been cut by the contractor, but there they were.

LESSON 2: It is our garden, do not expect consultants and external vendors to do our dirty work for us. It needs to be checked. Leadership is our job. Management is our job. If we do not follow up, consider it not done. Our expectations must be higher than anyone else.

As I continued to weed more, I began to see that apart from the cow grass, there were very many different types of weeds. Some look exactly like the cow grass, others are creepers, some even have flowers. It dawned on me that these were just like the many different types of people in the organization. However what makes a variety of grass a weed.

I stopped and googled; both Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries had similar definitions for weed. It was â€œany wild plant that grows in an unwanted place, especially in a garden or field where it prevents the cultivated plants from growing freely.” My dad wanted cow grass in his garden, so anything else was a plant in the wrong place, therefore a weed.

LESSON 3: In any organization, we want a certain type of people working for us. These people do not necessarily have the same competency but should have the same values and share similar views of the organization. So technically speaking, cow grass could also be a weed if it was not what the gardener desired in his garden. Hence the end goal of Lesson 1, we need to state what is desired in the organization.

However, is the aesthetic of the place the only reason why we weed?

LESSON 4: As per the definition, weeds “prevent the cultivated plants from growing freely.” How very true. Weeds compete with the cultivated plants for the same water, sunlight, and nutrients from the soil. With them around, the cultivated plants grow a lot slower. Hence the need to pull the weed out, roots and all, not just cut them off.

This new realization made me relished weeding even more, as I was helping the Garden reach its the desired stage. The work was indeed a tedious one as some of the weeds had very deep roots and often after pulling them out, the remains will be just the brown soil. It was indeed an ugly sight, patches of brown on an otherwise green carpet. However, within two to three weeks, the cow grass will cover those brown areas, any trace of the infestation will be gone. That’s the power of just letting the sun and soil do their job.

LESSON 5: Whenever a leader makes any changes, there will always be undesired effects, however as long as it was a good decision and the right action taken, the outcome will be a desired one.

As I doubled up my efforts in weeding, my dad came up to me and pointed to a certain weed. He told me that I should concentrate on pulling that type of weed more. I looked at those and replied but those are the difficult ones with deep roots and they tend to grow over a much larger area. He replied “Exactly!”.

LESSON 6: As the leader, we must understand that the most difficult job of the transformation is the one we need to concentrate on the most on. We need to pull out the roots of the weeds and ensure all the undesired are removed as quickly as possible.

Ninety minutes after I started, it was becoming really hot, my dad said it was time to go in. I wanted to do more, a few minutes later, my dad called out again and said, weeding is a never-ending process, it is something that we must do all the time. It is part of being a gardener.

Lesson 7: Like any leader managing people, it is our job to determine who are the wide plant that grows in our space and prevents the cultivated plants from growing. This is a never-ending process as long as the organization's journey continues. Leaders shape the company and it starts with ensuring the desired people are hired, developed, and perform to expectation.

Lastly, as I sat there on the veranda with my dad, it dawned on me

Lesson 8: Any transformation is a process and leadership is a continuous thing. We as leaders must stay fit and healthy for the long haul. Take your break but keep your focus. This is more than just a marathon. This is life, it will change us, just as we change the landscape.