What You Water, Will Grow

I was recently hiking in the high deserts of Colorado near or above the tree line. The ground was dry, parched, and rocky.  Unexpectedly, I came upon a lush green area that was full of life and beautiful wildflowers. Through the middle of this garden was a little stream of water. As the snowfields melted, they supplied this alpine garden with the one missing ingredient it needed to create beauty and life – water.

What does this have to do with you as a leader? Everything. What you focus your time and attention on – what you water, will grow.

Let’s apply this principle. If you spend your time nitpicking and pointing out everything wrong, you will grow negativity and undermine trust. If you, instead, spend your time focusing on what people did right, you will build confidence and encourage initiative. Now, which of these two outcomes do you want?

Neuroscience researcher David Rock says that one in 13 negative interactions produces a positive result regardless of who is at fault. Those are pretty slim odds. On the other hand, half the positive interactions produce a positive result regardless of who is at fault. A positive outcome has far more to do with how you approach the other person than it does with what actually happened.

My encouragement to you is to water what you want to grow. Even if you are in a virtual desert. Put enough water on it, and it will come to life.