In my part of the great
American Southwest there’s a terrible weed called tribulus terrestris. Roughly
translated it means “pointy weapon of the earth”. We call them goat heads
because of their shape and pointy horns. These burrs are worse than their
cactus neighbors because they hitch a ride on clothing and drop strategically
inside the house in places most likely to be traversed by bare feet. I find it
no coincidence that the devil himself is often symbolized by a goat’s head.
After spending a good bit
of time wresting them from my yard and gravel drive I began to think about the
ease with which they seem to exist. Unlike the cool green grass I try to
nurture and grow, or the tiny tremulous tomato plants we fed and watered, the
pernicious weeds just got haphazardly dropped in the worst soil on the property
and settled in for a long season. I case there is a chance of missing the
metaphor, weeds are the damaging attitudes and behaviors in an organization in
contrast to a carefully crafted workplace culture. Here are a few lessons that occurred to me as
I stabbed at those wicked roots in the hot sun:
Weeds
are lazy and lucky
The things that leaders want, such as loyalty, performance,
congruence with the mission, are things that must be nurtured, cared for, and
maintained. We can seek to hire people with these qualities but maintaining
desired behavior and attitudes is a constant process of growth. Low morale and
sloppy work are insidious and barely noticeable but take root in any crevice
they find.
Weeds
are selfish
Annoying burrs don’t like to work for a living. They
take their nutrients from the good plants. The beautiful and helpful growth
will be weakened by the weeds. Not only do the weeds need to be stopped,
killed, or removed, but the healthy plants must be protected. Pulling weeds
near roses can damage the rose bush unless it happens early and carefully
Weeds
cause unseen damage
I often am blissfully unaware of the goat head in the
driveway until I unwittingly carry a burr into the house where, days later, I
discover it in the sole of my bare foot during a 2 a.m. trek to the kitchen.
Suddenly my whole attention is directed not only to removing the thorn from my
paw, but also planning a venture into the dark web to purchase a nuclear device
to rid the planet of tribulus terrestris. But a temporary rage against the
annoyance solves nothing. Neither does a brief nuclear attack on the immediate
problem. Cultivation and care is the key.
What
are the weeds in your agency?
To apply the lessons of weed control the first quest
is to find out what the weeds are and where they are hiding. After that comes
not only an effort at eradication, but a renewed effort at nurturing the plants
that need to be healthy and useful for a healthy environment.
