How to become an authentic leader – naturally

How to make your environment flourish… for everyone.

Leadership is just like gardening. There is no better way to nurture your garden or allotment than to get stuck in with your hands in the soil; with patience, investment in time and nurturing habits (and of course hard work!), you will experience consistent growth.

The exact same process applies to being an authentic leader. Leadership is not a role of control and domination, it is a nurturing role. Like gardening, authentic leadership comes with patience and practice, and you will be rewarded with continual growth. Inexperienced leaders tend to focus on control and micromanage. Instead, find out what slows down your top performers and remove it.

I enjoy every moment spending time nurturing my allotment, whatever the weather. In the beautiful spring to plant and sow, watering throughout the summer, harvesting in the autumn and then onto preparing for winter- I am there. Just as an effective leader should be there for their team come rain or shine.

Transform your workplace (and garden!)

One of my Women’s Leadership Coaching Programmes is focused on exactly that – transforming your workplace by looking at creating healthy environments where your team can blossom. In order to become an authentic leader, you will need to grow your teams’ capabilities, know their strengths and weaknesses, get excited by their progress, remove any impediments, and praise (or water!) constantly – just as I do when growing produce at my allotment…

Look for growth and then nurture

A gardener creates an environment and provides the necessary resources for plants to put down roots and grow. A gardener should choose which plants to grow in the best positions, provide them with the necessary elements and watch them flourish. Apply this analogy to your team and watch them bloom!

Get excited by progress

Get excited about the progress of your garden. The total joy at seeing the seedlings take root, after you have shown dedication and encouragement, will show just how in the right conditions it is possible to thrive. You will be authentically leading a very happy team if you support this type of environment.

Remove impediments

You are the primary weed control expert charged with encouraging growth. Weeds will always inhibit growth which can be in the form of unhappy colleagues or out of date processes. With the right leadership style, you will be able to get creative about these issues, resolve conflict and consult with others on better practices, which in turn builds trust.

Then praise and water…

Your job as gardener and authentic leader is to walk around with a watering can full of praise, and use fertilising encouraging words and actions, which will grow both your seeds and your team members.

Is it time you changed your perspective?

Time to step into your power and lead the change you want to see there. Not on your own. That’s unlikely to have the desired effect. But, when you collaborate with a group of women who, like you, see a better work environment as key to job satisfaction and fulfilment, that’s certainly possible.

Are you looking to effectively lead your team with improved relationships, renewed energy and confidence? My coaching programs prepare and empower women to lead from the heart and make the contribution only they can make to create a better work environment (and great gardens too!).

Do you want to grow into an empowered, conscious, compassionate and courageous leader, the type that is so needed right now? Join one of my programs and discover how, collectively, we can create a better work environment and a world where everyone can flourish.

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