It's up to YOU!

I have pondered for days about the topic of this blog post and kept coming back to, It's up to You. Not, all about you, but UP TO YOU, THE PEOPLE GARDENER!  The culture of your team, starts with you.  The engagement of your team, starts with you. The productivity of your team, starts with you.  The happiness of your team, starts with you. You, make the difference.  You, cultivate the difference. You, grow the difference. What you do, how you do it; what you say, how you say it matters. You set the tone for everything that happens in your department.  That's a lot of responsibility sitting squarely on your shoulders. Simple, right? It is, it just isn't easy and requires dedicated effort on your part to learn, grow and become a great leader.

OWN IT

DEVELOP A MORNING ROUTINE

Developing a before work routine that puts your head and heart in a calm open place. (This may be reading scripture or motivational books, listening to podcasts, yoga, meditation, praying, gym workout or walking to name a few). Be clear and energized when you step into the building.
 

WORK ON YOURSELF DAILY

Work on yourself daily to become a great leader.  Read, listen & watch content that expands your mind, your world, your thinking and then put into practice what resonates.  Hold yourself accountable to BE better today than you were yesterday.
 

BE AVAILABLE

Be available to your team at any time.  I don't believe you should ever be "too busy".  If they have questions, they need answers.  Learn from the question and determine if you were not clear on your task request or expectation.  If not, modify how you present the information.
 

WALK AROUND

Roam the department regularly and interact with your team.  Get to know them individually. This is the time you check the people garden for weeds (discord, pettiness, jealousy, gossip etc.) and to get a close look at how each person (plant) is doing.  Unlike plants that tell you right away when something isn't right in their world, people have an innate ability to disguise what ails them and you have to work harder at finding the root cause. Weeding is vital because those weeds are a distraction and take away from the beauty, energy and productivity of the garden as a whole.
 

GIVE TIMELY FEEDBACK

It is always the right time for honest, thoughtful feedback to your team or to an individual. Encourage your team to give it to you as well. Invite them to tell you how they think you are doing in your role as leader. They need to know you to trust you, so making sure they know what you think and how you feel is paramount to that journey.
 

BE YOURSELF

Everyday.  No moods.  No excuses. Triumphs and failures are part of life so own all of them, embrace the learning throughout it. CARE that every single person in your garden feels loved, supported and valued.

I did say it was simple, right? It's also HUGE so more on the next blog post!