Gardeners have varying degrees of success in their efforts. Sometimes they are able to get a plant to stay alive and grow leaves but are never able to get it to reach it’s full potential which could be to produce flowers or fruit. I have personally experienced this situation and it can be frustrating to not see the results you hoped for.

How I relate this to the workplace is the difference between managing and leading. Management is the workplace equivalent of not killing plants or helping them grow leaves. It is assisting your staff to survive in their role, meeting enough targets to keep their employment status as “live”. Leadership is about getting people to reach their full potential, helping them to thrive at work. It is the activities that result in people achieving great things, the equivalent of flowering or fruiting.

When describing levels of performance or engagement, I have a four stage model: the Green or potential performer, the Keen or high performer, the Mean or under performer and the Has Been or non performer. In terms of this model, someone who is being effectively managed but not effectively lead will probably appear as Mean which in mathematics is another way of saving average. They will do OK but not excel. In other words, they will have leaves but not fruit or flowers.

What this definition means is that you need to do both tasks, manage and lead, in order to have healthy employees. Management lays the foundations that leadership builds on. Just as you are unlikely to have a plant flower or bear fruit if its leaves are unhealthy, you are unlikely to have someone reach their full potential if they are struggling to cope with the basic aspects of their role. Let’s not forget the value of good management practices. Don’t sacrifice them in the name of better leadership. Let’s find a way to get those two roles to work together to create a productive workplace garden!

Tags: employee engagement, Karen Schmidt, Leadership and gardening, Leadership and management, Leadership skills, Leading is like gardening, Management versus leadership, www.letsgrow.com.au