Hello everyone,
Next up on our journey through Leadership Seeds—Harvesting the Transformative Lessons of Macie and the Magic Veggies, the Process Seed. Like the others we’ve explored (Growth, Gratitude, Content, Wisdom, Discovery, Passion, Relationships), this seed plays a significant role in helping us grow as leaders by learning, mastering, and creating to achieve success.
A line from the story: Macie listens carefully, writing down what she hears. She learns how and when to harvest, as the big day nears.
In Macie and the Magic Veggies, Macie’s attentive and active approach to learning is illustrated by her careful note-taking and engagement in the process of learning how to harvest. This line highlights the importance of understanding and internalizing every step of a process.
As a “classically-trained” consultant, from my MBA studies to my first management roles, my early career was all about learning proven processes to improve business results. (I cut my teeth on the work of Tom Peters and Jim Champy’s Reengineering the Corporation.)
Learning this foundational knowledge and best practices helped me grow as a consultant and as a leader. Today, I still embrace the value of leveraging processes, but now I also create my own based on my experience.
One process I’ve put into practice is my 3V’s for evaluating potential business partnerships. Guided by Warren Buffett’s quote, “After some other mistakes, I learned to go into business only with people whom I like, trust, and admire,” I added these three process steps based on lessons learned from my own mistakes:
Align on Values
If we don’t share core values, it’s a non-starter.
Share a Vision
Liking, trusting, and admiring someone doesn’t mean we share the same vision for success.
Then, and only then…Explore Ventures
With values and vision aligned, I can confidently explore and evaluate potential ventures.
Here are a few ways to plant and nurture the Process Seed within your leadership style and organizational culture:
Encourage Active Learning
Promote a culture where team members actively engage in learning best practices and sharing processes.
Document Proven Processes
Ensure that key processes are well-documented and accessible to everyone to maintain consistency.
Foster Continuous Improvement
Encourage a continuous improvement mindset by regularly reviewing, refining, and creating processes.
As we continue to explore the Macieverse through these Leadership Seeds, let’s remember the value of mastering processes. Understanding and internalizing each step not only helps us achieve success but also enables us to innovate and excel in our endeavors.
💬 I’d love to hear about the processes you use in your work! What strategies have you found effective in mastering new challenges and driving success?
Let’s grow together in process mastery and innovation! 🥕🍅🥦
And who knows, maybe even Warren Buffet, the “Wizard of Omaha” himself, would be interested in learning about my process!
Peter Contardo
