5 Dedication Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9 The Garden of Empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Weeds, Daisies, and Orchids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Don’t Kill the Weeds!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Pushing Up Daisies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Orchids and Their Opposites  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 The Good Gardener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 A Closing Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Contents
This book is dedicated to Sharon O’Malley at University of Maryland University College, who, underneath it all, has given me the gift of clarity and created a space for my voice to be heard.
9 Introduction C hoose which plant you’d most like to bring to work with you to brighten your workspace: orchid, daisy, or weed? Would you choose the delicate orchid, with a bloom so beautiful it can soothe you, even as it takes your breath away? Or do you prefer the daisy, whose cheerful yellow-and- white blossoms seem to bloom endlessly, no matter the season? Who would opt to keep an ever-growing weed around the office, even one that you can’t kill if your busy schedule forces you to neglect it or one that sprouts tiny, fanciful buds despite its reputation for ugliness? Most people immediately welcome the lovely orchid. Too bad it’s such a colossal pain to keep it beautiful. Believe it or not, a busy manager like you who wants to add a bit of outdoor greenery to a drab office might be better off carting a weed to work. Weeds, after all, flourish even if you forget to water them, or even if you can’t find
10 a sunny spot near a window to leave them to do their growing. Unlike orchids, they’re not picky about where they spend their time and don’t need a lot of your atten- tion—which really belongs elsewhere, anyway—to thrive. A good second choice is the daisy, which will grow nearly as hardily as a weed with a minimal amount of fuss on your part. What does this have to do with managing employees? Think of your employees as orchids, daisies, and weeds. Think of yourself as the gardener whose job it is to nurture them to full bloom. If you could choose the employees you’d most like to work with every day, would you select: • Orchid employees, who need you to stick close enough to ensure they get just the right amount of—but not too much—sunlight, water, and humidity (read that: directions, feedback, and praise), or else they’ll wither up and die? • Daisy employees, who can yield voluminous blooms (excellent work) in a wide range of temperatures (situations), but still need you to check in every now Way To Grow! Believe it or not, a busy manager who wants to add a bit of outdoor greenery to a drab office might be better off carting a weed to work.
11 and then to make sure they are getting adequate water, sunlight, and circulation (coaching, feed- back, and opportunity)? • Or weed employees, who can fend for themselves in almost any situation, leaving you plenty of time to tend to the needier plants in the garden? When it’s put to them that way, most managers say they would welcome a garden full of weeds. Sure, the “orchid, daisy, weed” metaphor might seem contrary; after all, we spend far too many summer weekends and way too much money trying to kill the dandelions and crab grass that grow on our lawns! We pay dearly to include the graceful orchid in our cherished bridal bouquets and prom corsages. The “orchid, daisy, weed” model turns those perceptions upside down! Work with it. Try to equate an indestructible weed with a high-performing employee—someone who doesn’t let anything stop him or her from succeeding. Compare a maintenance-hungry orchid with a low performer— someone who takes so much of your time to keep on track that you have to wonder if it’s worth the effort. Using the metaphor in this way will help you understand employees, which is the first step in knowing how to allocate your time and involvement with them. That’s important because, unfortunately, most workplace “gardens” don’t begin with a crop of ready-to-grow, Introduction
12 impossible-to-stop, weed-like employees. Your workplace employs a diverse mixture of orchids, daisies, and weeds. As their manager, you need to identify their differences (and their differences can be vast!) and decide who needs what from you. Chances are, you’re already devoting most of your time to the orchids: • New employees. • Problem or apathetic employees. • Employees whose skills don’t quite match the job they’re expected to perform. • Employees who grew like weeds in their last positions so you promoted them to the next level ... and they’re taking a while to get back up to “weed speed.” Daisies, on the other hand, can pretty much figure things out on their own. But daisies still need some coaching from you and from their more experienced peers. Daisies are: • Competent employees who struggle with just a couple of their tasks. • Employees whose lack of confidence in them- selves might be keeping them from growing like high-performing weeds. Way To Grow!
13 • Otherwise exceptional workers whose personal or health problems have caused them to slip a bit on the job. • “Weeds” who are experiencing a temporary set- back in one or two problem areas or who have taken on new responsibilities and need some time to adjust before they’re performing at their peak again. It can seem that weeds don’t need you to manage them at all. Weeds are: • Employees who take the next logical step with- out waiting for the boss to suggest it. • Employees who get their work done well and on time. • High performers who are eager for more responsi- bility and greater challenges. The reality for you, the manager of a staff of employees whose skills are diverse, is that each one—orchid, daisy, and weed—needs you on some level. Recognizing which level of your time and involvement is necessary to help your employees bloom where they’re planted—no matter what kind of flower they resemble—will help you nurture each one appropriately and effectively. Introduction
14 This book will help you sort your employees out. It will help you determine who needs your time and why. It will help you decide how much time to spend with each orchid, daisy, and weed to maximize his or her chances for on-the-job success. On these pages, you will find: • Guidelines for categorizing your employees as needy orchids, potentially great daisies, or unstoppable weeds. • Hints for determining how much time and involvement you, as a manager, should give to each type of employee. • Tips for effectively coaching orchids and daisies in a way that will help them grow into the most desirable office plant: the weed. • Insight that will help you engage, as a manager and coach, with a weed who might seem to be doing fine without any feedback from you. • Food for thought about what kind of employee you are, and suggestions for those times when you might need some help finding your way back to the weed garden. The success of your orchids, daisies, and weeds, of course, is part of your success and your organization’s success. The gardener will be judged by the health and beauty of the garden. Read, learn, and apply these lessons. Then watch your garden grow! Way To Grow!
15 “Whatever you are, be a good one.” —-Abraham Lincoln
16 “Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” —-Carol Burnett