Apple Trees and Leadership Development
My grandfather was an apple farmer. His life was about keeping his trees producing apples. As a child I would visit the farm and walk in the orchards with him. As we walked Grandpa would talk about what help the trees. Things like irrigation, pruning and thinning. Not really looking to become an apple farmer myself these topics didn't hold much interest but now, as I reflect on them, they hold important truths for our journey to become whole leaders.
Irrigation:
All plants need to stay connected to a source of water to grow and remain productive. Apples stop developing if they loose connection to their source of water and nutrients. If the tree is cut off from the water supply, the branch is cut off from the trunk or the fruit is pulled from the tree growth stops and death starts. (ripening isn't growth it's the start fruit's decomposition).
Our ideal self is the compelling reason for us to continue to grow and develop. It is our source. Our progress depends on staying connected at all levels to that internal motivation. As the task driven, urgency of our day crowds in, our minds drift away from our source. Our self-awareness and social awareness go out the window and we no longer manage ourselves or our relationships effectively. Remain productive and growing by tending to your irrigation. Take time each day to reflect on your ideal self; your compelling reason to grow.
Pruning:
I thought pruning was loping off branches that didn't look good so the tree would have a pretty shape. Grandpa quickly chased that notion from my head on one of our walks. After the harvest one year I watched Grandpa and the workers cut the trees back to almost nothing. It seemed radical and drastic. When I asked he explained that during the winter the tree needed only most productive branches for the winter. All the others were "dead weight" and would only waste energy over the winter. With a practiced eye, he identified the most productive branches and got rid of them. The following spring the trees responded with tremendous growth all over and numerous flowers on the branches not pruned the previous winter.
Do we need to do some pruning in our behaviors? If I look at how I spend my energy (time, attention, resources) I'm sure I can identify the areas that are producing great results and those that are not showing much promise. Cutting out the less productive activity can be painful but the resulting increase in energy and productivity are well worth it.
Thinning:
When I visited the apple farm in late summer I would find small, rock-hard apples on the ground. My first thought was to gather as many as possible to use as ammunition against my cousins in apple fights. I was a bit frightened that Grandpa would be mad at us for abusing his apples but he explained that these apples hadn't fallen on their own but were "thinned;" picked and dropped before they were ready on purpose. This seemed like a waste to me. Grandpa explained the reason to me. He said that where there were two or three apples growing together they shared the water and nutrients. Where there were too many apples growing none would fully develop. He showed me huge calluses on his hands from pinching off the extra fruit so that the one left could grow into a large, high quality apple.
When I am looking at my opportunities for growth and development I usually can find several quality options to try. I am often temped to select several different plans to work on at the same time. Like the apples, this approach reduces the energy and focus I spend on any one of them. The more plans I implement the less likely any of them will produce the change I'm looking for. Sometimes we need to "thin" our action plans by focusing on the one or two best and putting others, even good ones, on the shelf.
These simple lessons from an old apple farmer speak offer great wisdom on how we grow as leaders. Grandpa created the best possible conditions for an apple tree to do what is was made for; producing apples. As leaders we can apply these lessons to ourselves and the people we work with. How can we create the best possible conditions for people to be as productive as possible.
Irrigation:
All plants need to stay connected to a source of water to grow and remain productive. Apples stop developing if they loose connection to their source of water and nutrients. If the tree is cut off from the water supply, the branch is cut off from the trunk or the fruit is pulled from the tree growth stops and death starts. (ripening isn't growth it's the start fruit's decomposition).
Our ideal self is the compelling reason for us to continue to grow and develop. It is our source. Our progress depends on staying connected at all levels to that internal motivation. As the task driven, urgency of our day crowds in, our minds drift away from our source. Our self-awareness and social awareness go out the window and we no longer manage ourselves or our relationships effectively. Remain productive and growing by tending to your irrigation. Take time each day to reflect on your ideal self; your compelling reason to grow.
Pruning:
I thought pruning was loping off branches that didn't look good so the tree would have a pretty shape. Grandpa quickly chased that notion from my head on one of our walks. After the harvest one year I watched Grandpa and the workers cut the trees back to almost nothing. It seemed radical and drastic. When I asked he explained that during the winter the tree needed only most productive branches for the winter. All the others were "dead weight" and would only waste energy over the winter. With a practiced eye, he identified the most productive branches and got rid of them. The following spring the trees responded with tremendous growth all over and numerous flowers on the branches not pruned the previous winter.
Do we need to do some pruning in our behaviors? If I look at how I spend my energy (time, attention, resources) I'm sure I can identify the areas that are producing great results and those that are not showing much promise. Cutting out the less productive activity can be painful but the resulting increase in energy and productivity are well worth it.
Thinning:
When I visited the apple farm in late summer I would find small, rock-hard apples on the ground. My first thought was to gather as many as possible to use as ammunition against my cousins in apple fights. I was a bit frightened that Grandpa would be mad at us for abusing his apples but he explained that these apples hadn't fallen on their own but were "thinned;" picked and dropped before they were ready on purpose. This seemed like a waste to me. Grandpa explained the reason to me. He said that where there were two or three apples growing together they shared the water and nutrients. Where there were too many apples growing none would fully develop. He showed me huge calluses on his hands from pinching off the extra fruit so that the one left could grow into a large, high quality apple.
When I am looking at my opportunities for growth and development I usually can find several quality options to try. I am often temped to select several different plans to work on at the same time. Like the apples, this approach reduces the energy and focus I spend on any one of them. The more plans I implement the less likely any of them will produce the change I'm looking for. Sometimes we need to "thin" our action plans by focusing on the one or two best and putting others, even good ones, on the shelf.
These simple lessons from an old apple farmer speak offer great wisdom on how we grow as leaders. Grandpa created the best possible conditions for an apple tree to do what is was made for; producing apples. As leaders we can apply these lessons to ourselves and the people we work with. How can we create the best possible conditions for people to be as productive as possible.
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