A hard winter freeze in Arizona of all places has left my lemon tree with dead, dry, brown leaves. When I first saw what had happened to this formerly prolific bearer of good fruit, I wondered if it could, or would, come back to life?<\/p>\n
Was this the end of the line or did it need a severe pruning? Fertilizer? Water and sun? Or, would the only solution to its \u2018deadness\u2019 be its removal and replacement?<\/p>\n
How could something that had been so bountiful, simply lose its usefulness?<\/p>\n
It makes me consider how easily it is for workers to lose their fruitfulness through an unwise act of their manager, or leader. A Bureau of Prisons employee once told me of the tears in his co-worker\u2019s eyes, when the new warden decided to \u2018clean up the entrance\u2019 to the prison by having its row of trees cut down, and burned. \u201cI planted that tree,\u201d he said, in great pain and sadness. Years before, a tree planting initiative had been a morale builder in that workplace \u2026 now, it had become a morale buster for that employee. The warden either didn\u2019t know, or worse yet, didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n
The result was a worker who became broken, and bitter. A hard freeze set in.<\/p>\n
This happens way too often as employees experience decisions, self-serving motivations, or just plain poor methods by their leaders. Once healthy relationships between worker and workplace are strained \u2013 possibly damaged beyond repair.<\/p>\n
In 1964, Trini Lopez sang a hit song entitled \u2018Lemon Tree\u2019 \u2013 a story of loss, bitterness, and disappointment. It chronicles how fragile relationships are, and how easily things can be harmed.<\/p>\n
As a leader, it\u2019s your responsibility to promote growth \u2026 not only to the bottom-line or the results on which you are measured \u2026 but to the people you need to produce those outcomes. Try to be aware of them, how they feel, if they\u2019ve gone cold, or what their response is to their work environment. Some warmth toward them, understanding and a sincere recognition of their conditions, will help keep them from losing their productivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cLemon tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet. (lyrics)\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m beginning to see some new growth.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Jerry
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A hard winter freeze in Arizona of all places has left my lemon tree with dead, dry, brown leaves. When I first saw what had happened to this formerly prolific bearer of good fruit, I wondered if it could, or … Continue reading