Decide, Sow, and Harvest Through People

Naming the adversity for what it is, finding whatever seed we can draw from it, and owning the role we played in how it happened starts the process. If we stop there, though, we’ll stand little chance of ever capturing the greater opportunity available from it. And that leaves us with nothing more than a bad experience. Without making a definite decision, coming up with a definite plan for sowing the seed we find, and determining who we can sow that seed with, we’re effectively choosing to allow that seed to go unnurtured.

For more than a decade, Cindy and I had no choice but to develop extremely detailed plans for digging out of the financial mess we were in, maneuvering the professional setbacks we encountered along the way, and navigating the career transitions that followed. Even then, the most throughout plans are useless until we back them with action; that requires making (and committing to) a decision.

As we progressed through what a lot of the people around us saw as bold leaps, strong stands, and a stinking pandemic, leaning on our values was crucial for continuing to sow when it would have been far easier not to. I’ve said it a few times already but it’s worth mentioning again here: sowing consistently and continuously should be viewed as a requirement, where we sow is not. Learning to understand the importance of values-alignment then developing the ability to recognize where that existed (and where it didn’t) allowed us to keep sowing when bitterness could have knocked us off course.

For me, those fourth and fifth steps are fairly straightforward. The sixth, however, could be misinterpreted so I’ll address the potential elephant in the room. Harvesting through people is in no way something we should ever look at as anything less than a definite win/win proposition. In teaching the DISC Model of Human Behavior, Cindy and I are very intentional about addressing the motives behind how those tools are used. We can all point to situations where people in leadership positions have said or done things to manipulate the people around them for personal gain. Notice I said “people in leadership positions” rather than calling those people “leaders.” A leader is responsible for serving their team, not getting ahead at their expense. When we have a solid values-alignment and we’re committed to truly serving the people who count on us for leadership, we can indeed expect to reap a harvest through the work we do with them.

There’s one thing I’ll caution you against though: don’t allow one bad situation to sour you. Far too many people stop following this process after step three or four when someone has taken advantage of them. I get it. I’ve often heard about the cat that jumped on a hot stove; that cat never jumped on a hot stove again, and it didn’t jump on a cold stove either. It stayed away from stoves altogether. There will be times where it seems easier to take our journey alone. And we may even be able to get better results in that moment, but if we take that same approach over the long haul we’re sure to sacrifice the harvest we can gain through people. We will hit a lid on our own capacity. The decision to push through it and to sow even when we don’t want to is what leads to a bigger harvest - for us and the people we can impact along the way. We’ll just need to be aware of the places where seeds shouldn’t be planted.

Before challenging you to run this on a situation of your own in real time, take this to heart: Naming the adversity gets us started, finding the seed means we have something to work with, and owning our part usually means we’re ready to move forward. That said, a found seed still dies without a decision, a plan, and someone to sow with. Influence is the harvest, and it shows up in cooperation, not in a title. For the same situation I’ve asked you to jot down last time, write one decision, one extra-mile action you can take immediately, and one person who should feel the benefit.