Accepting & Understanding diversity! Nettles in your team, a leadership parable...

Do you have a nettle in your team?

Annoying little things nettles aren’t they? I got stank last week and it hurt for hours. Not the deadly kind of pain but the annoying type, the one that makes you wish you run in the shed grab a pair of gloves and pull out every single one of those pesky irritants! BUT they are the only source of food for the larvae of certain species of butterfly, they make excellent fertiliser, food rich in Vitamins A & C, and iron amongst other things and it is favoured amongst certain cultures for its medicinal properties!

Now lets think of daffodils. We all like them don’t we? Yet they are rather poisonous! During a cookery class back in 2009 a number of schoolchildren fell ill at Gorseland Primary School in Suffolk, England, after a daffodil bulb was mistaken for onion and was added to the soup.
No this post is not about gardening, its about effectively leading a team.

There are team members who’s reaction and approach to new ideas or change or even the way you make decisions, may feel like the sting of nettles. Their reaction may appear over-dramatized or even irrational to you and your instinctive reaction is probably to ignore their “sting“ and move on, possibly avoiding including them in future decision making processes.

Have you paused to consider what valuable lessons you may be ignoring? Is that person a hard working person that actually contributes a lot to your team? Is that person someone who thinks so differently to you that their analysis when reviewed with a clear head may actually provide some insight to things you missed?

What about those colleagues in the team that give you praise, they never rock the boat they always tell you how much they admire your decisions. What value do they really add to your team. They may add value to your ego but is that enough to ensure a continuing success for your business?

Of course balance is essential, and getting the right number of various “plants” in your “garden” is key. The important lesson is to know what each “plant” can do for your “garden”. No matter if we are talking about “nettles” or “daffodils”, a great “gardener” should now how to make the best use of both. Because the way I see it, all great leaders in history were great gardeners, of sorts.

But what about yourself as a team member are you a nettle or a daffodil? Me you ask? Well... I guess yellow was never really my kind of colour :)

*first published in Linkedin pulse.