Word water

I used to have a pretty simplistic view of water in relation to plants. It was just something they needed to survive and grow, a critical ingredient.

Working harder at recalling some elementary biology from high school and then doing a little more research, it was interesting to discover that water is essential for plants both as matter and medium.

As matter, water helps maintain cell turgidity, which is crucial for the plant's structure. It's also involved in photosynthesis, where water molecules are split to release oxygen.

Water also acts as a medium for transporting nutrients and minerals from the soil to different parts of the plant. It dissolves these nutrients and carries them through the plant's vascular system. This transportation is vital for the plant's nourishment and overall health.

If we use plants as an analogy for teams, water's equivalent becomes the words and communication we use to sustain our teams.

Clear and consistent communication matters in our teams and organisations, by maintaining structure and integrity, not unlike turgidity in plants (remembering that this requires a certain amount of 'fullness' or pressure to create supporting structure). And just as photosynthesis splits water molecules to release oxygen, our use of words can unlock (or lock up) elements of creativity and talent to release innovation in our team endeavours. That release of innovation can be oxygen for broader organisational performance and progress and the external environment with our customers and stakeholders.

Communication is also a mediating factor for teams, as (done adroitly) it dissolves and distributes knowledge and information in way that it can be shared across all members, giving them access to the resources and insights they need to perform effectively. Thinking about essential nutrients like understanding of best practices, shared learning from successes and failures, and multiple modes of professional development, language and communication are a critical medium for making these keys to growth and development happen.

So our words as leaders can act very much as water does for plants. They absolutely matter to our teams (in terms of what they can do) but they are also an essential medium (in terms of what they can carry and distribute).

And of course water and word quality can make a huge difference. Optimally we work to keep it crystal clear, fresh running and naturally filtered. Not muddy, stagnant, or contaminated.

Chlorinated water and words come with drawbacks, too.

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