My high school was covered in geraniums. Before you wonder if I mean the flowers…I do…The simple and traditional red flower. I have really never been impressed with the flower. It is a pretty plain flower. Nevertheless, the entire school was covered in them…outside, inside, all the court yards and most of the teachers’ offices.

For the first three years of high school I walked the halls and always noticed the geraniums, but never appreciated them. That all changed my Sr. year.

Looking to pad my GPA I signed up for a class called Plant and Nature Study. I was the only student in the class. When I showed up the first day, my eyes were opened to the legacy of the geraniums. There was much more to these flowers than the average passerby knew.

My teacher began by giving me a tour of the greenhouse…Supposedly, the perfect environment to grow flowers. The greenhouse was filled with all varieties of plants…not to mention a three foot iguana named Chuck. He pointed out all the beds, fertilizers and water. He then took me on a tour of the entire campus to point out all the flowers and beds that I would be responsible for maintaining. It was a bit overwhelming, but exciting. Through the fall I learned so much about pruning, watering and fertilizing, but nothing would have prepared me for the lesson I was about to learn.

After the first freeze I was instructed to gather all the geraniums up and bring them to the greenhouse. For a week I collected all the red flowers. I then began to learn an incredible lesson on multiplication.

Mr. Wood looked through all of the geraniums, sorting them as to their appearance. He created three tables. One with healthy plants…one with average plants…one with dead plants. He then selected the healthiest plants from the first table and began breaking off portions of the plants. Snap! Snap! They made a distinct sound as he broke of one piece at a time. I was confused as to why he was treating the healthiest plants in this fashion. So instead of sitting their in silence wondering why he was torturing this poor plant, I simply asked Mr. Wood…why?

He first pointed to a beautiful geranium that always remained in the greenhouse. I had just assumed it was an extra plant. He told me it was the first and only plant he bought his first year as a botany teacher…it was all his meager budget would allow. He went on to explain that all of the geraniums around the school are descendants from this original geranium.

The first year he transplanted a dozen pieces of this plant. Then, from those he transplanted more. The same thing occurred year after year. For years he had been breaking off portions of the healthy geraniums, planting them in soil and watching them grow. Multiplying the number of geraniums yearly.

What a great picture of how we are to grow and lead our teams. I can’t think of a better barometer for the heath of a leader or team, than by the people they produce…or reproduce. To be honest, I could probably go many directions with this analogy. How to create the perfect environment for growth and multiplication, spending your time with your healthiest leaders or what it takes to transplant your DNA in your leaders to name a few. I would like to just keep it simple by discussing how we need to purposely multiply our leaders.

I am sure if asked Mr. Wood never had envisioned so many healthy and vibrant geraniums throughout the campus. He simply invested in one…which spawned a dozen, which spawned another dozen and so on and so on. But it all came back to the original plant that he so heavily invested in.

So many times we lead with “drive-by” leadership never truly investing in a single other person. Then we often wonder why our programs, initiatives, business’, teams, councils or boards don’t produce our intended results. We question why we have to work so hard just to get a simple project completed. We are surprised by so little support by our peers or those we lead. I think it all comes back to the original geranium or in your case, your intentional investment in someone you’re leading.

“But this takes so much time” and “It’s so much easier if I just do it myself” has been told to me time and time again. While short term that may be true, that does not create the long term results I imagine any good or great leader is looking to accomplish. Not many leaders are content with the status quo or just doing enough to get by. Not investing in others will eventually lead to one or both of those realities.

So how do we intentionally and purposely multiply our leaders? You have to grow them.

Great leaders make finding those to lead and disciple their top priority. They immediately began identifying those they wish to GROOM for leadership. It all starts with one leader willing to invest into another leader.

They then begin to invest in a RELATIONSHIP with that leader. Just telling someone what to do all the time does not constitute a relationship. That is a boss. A great leader understands that trust is the capital that great teams are built upon and that the only way to develop trust is to invest in them as more than an employee, volunteer or teammate. You must build a strong relationship with them.

From that relationship there is a natural OVERFLOW of information where the leader begins to transfer what he knows into his student. This is simply the leader pouring his knowledge and DNA into his pupil. This step is crucial and timely, but must never precede the relationship. Passing on the wisdom can only be done effectively once there is a trusting relationship between the two. The leader must work very hard to clearly articulate the values, principals and goals they hold dear. Remember, the leader is attempting to reproduce themselves. This doesn’t happen through osmosis (I just wanted to impress you with another scientific term).

At this point the relationship should change, and the leader should be ready to WATCH as their young leader attempts to use what they have learned. Just because the leader has transferred information doesn’t mean he has trained a future great leader or he has completed the process. They must continue to coach their student though all types of situations and circumstances. Constantly reinforcing and providing insight where appropriate.

Investing in others is the key to the long term success of any team, organization or business. This cannot happen by chance or whenever you have time. It must be an intentional step and priority to all leaders who seek to be a success. Jim Collins said,
“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is a matter of conscious choice.” Every leader should seek…choose…to be the original geranium that multiplies endlessly to create more beautiful geraniums.

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