Friday, June 29, 2012

Knowing the Territory

Under my dad's instruction, I went out to hill my potatoes before the rain comes this afternoon. It's hot and muggy today, and my young German Shepherd is eager to help. It's better to just to let her, otherwise she's off in another garden area eating my strawberries!

My dad explained to me that you need to hill potatoes for two reasons: because the potatoes like to grow up into the looser soil and you won't have to dig so far down to get them and because they belong to the nightshade family, so you need to keep the sun off them. As I was hoeing the dirt and mounding it up around the potato plants, I was thinking about the parallels between that work and connected coaching. It's really not much of a stretch...everything is connected!

Much of my work as a coach involves creating optimal conditions for both growth and harvest. As a connected coach, I have to watch for signs that my cohort is ready/wanting/requiring something from me, and for signs that I need to stand back and let things grow and flower. I need to be mindful of and have the professional expertise to support my colleagues in ways that will help them move forward towards their own goal, their "harvest". I have to not only engage in an appreciative strength-based interaction with them, but at the same time be reflective about the impact of my own decisions and actions. Really, a lot like gardening, all the way around. I wonder if that means eventually it just becomes second nature, a way of knowing/being? Just like knowing your way around in the garden...

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