Auxin
Pruning a plant triggers an important, albeit counterintuitive, biological process.
By trimming down the plant you trigger a chemical reaction causing increased growth.
This process centres around auxin inhibition.
A plant releases auxin which inhibits growth in ancillary stems.
This supports a plant in allocating resources to its primary growth stem.
By trimming that stem, auxin is cut off, and resources become spread out to new parts of the plant.
Organizations function similarly.
The process of clarifying and scoping work to define core priorities works much like auxin.
While limiting ancillary growth (side projects), it enables core development and performance.
Pruning your team is not quite as literal as a plant, but serves as a useful reference point.
Continuously focusing on prioritizing reinforces one central pathway of working.
You unintentionally allow organizational auxin to inhibit divergent thinking and creative solutions.
As a leader you are accountable for the process of pruning your team.
This comes down to finding ways to challenge how your team manages resources in a manner that propagates new ways of thinking.
Growth does not come from a singular fixation on the same resource allocation and investment year over year.
Coffee’s out for summer,
- Morning Cup