You can’t have the fruit unless you take care of the roots. It was a small peach tree growing in my front yard, but it produced lots of fruit. Beautiful, golden, sweet, juicy peaches. As with most crops, the peaches didn’t just appear suddenly; they grew gradually through a process. Each spring leaves first appeared on the tree, then blossoms, and finally tiny beginnings of the fruit. The tiny nubbins steadily grew larger until the whole trees was covered with mature fruit. I had to prune and spray the tree occasionally, but other than that I just picked and ate the fruit. And every spring it produced new crop. Then one spring something different happened. The leaves came out as usual; the blossoms appeared; some of the tiny fruit nubbins even appeared. But then everything changed. The leaves that has always been so green and lush began to turn yellow and wilt. And the fruit stopped growing larger. I assumed it was a problem of water. I quickly soaked the tree. It continue to wilt. Alarmed, I called a tree specialist. He said it sounded like peach borers (binatang kecil perusak pohon persik, cherrie, plum). He told me to check just under the soil. I’d never heard of peach borers, but I followed his instruction and checked. Sure enough; just a few inches under the soil, where the trunk ended and the root system began, I found them; little white peach borers. They had eaten all around the base of the tree – not clearn enough the trunk, just through the outer layer. But since the nourishment from the roots flows through the outer layer, these little borers had effectively cut the tree off from its roots. I tried everything I could to save the tree. But it was too late. Severed from its roots, the tree died. And with it, my fruit. I was left with only dead wood, and a message: “You can’t have the fruit unless you take care of the roots.” [1] The Organizational Tree This same message applies to leadership: you can’t have the fruit (the results) unless you take care of the roots (the sources). An effective organization is a lot like a tree. In the same way that a tree has fruit, trunk and branches, and roots, an organization also has three parts: • • • A purpose for which it exists (the fruit) The means to nourish that purpose (the trunk and branches) A source that supports both the purpose and the means (the roots) Let’s look at each of these in more detail. For an organization, the purpose almost always includes such things as quality, productivity, and profit. These constitute the organizational fruit. I personally believe that people should also be here. People are not only the means of achieving quality, productivity and profit, but people – happy, growing, productive people – are one of the most desirable results, perhaps the most important “fruit”. A tree must have a means by which it gets nourishment to the fruit. The means through which the tree receives nourishment is its trunk and branches. This is o obvious that sometimes we miss its significance. Unless here is nourishment flowing from the trunk and branches into the tree, there will be no fruit. Like a tree, an organization must also have a means by which the results are nourished. In the case of an organization, the means are the people. Results are achieved by people working together. Thus, the three C’s of cooperation, communication, and commitment are essential. Without these three C’s, the organizational results of quality, productivity, profit and people will not be achieved. [2] But there is the point we often forget: the trunk and branches of the tree are not the sources of nourishment. They are only conduits. They are the means through which the nourishment flows. The real sources of nourishment are not visible. They are below the surface. They are the roots. Even though we don’t see the roots, if we want the fruit, we must attend to them. It’s the same in an organization. Teamwork, communication, and cooperation are not the sources of an effective organization. They are the means or conduit. The sources that nourish and feed the flow f teamwork, communication and cooperation in an organization are much deeper. They are the character, principles, and values of the people within the organization. These are the organizational ‘roots’. Even though the sources of nourishment for both a tree and an organization are beneath the surface, they are clearly the most important aspect of both. If the organization is severed from its roots, it will die just as surely as a tree that is severed from its roots. Severed from its roots, both a tree and an organization may appear OK for a short period of time (like cut Christmas tree does), but being severed from its roots, both will cease to receive nourishment, and both will soon wither and die. SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP [3] What does this have to do with leadership success? Simply this: In order to obtain the results (fruit), leaders must take care of the sources (roots). In order to better understand why and how a leader should take care of the roots, let’s look at the three parts of an organization in terms of the levels. In an organization, the fruit or the results (which include quality, productivity, profit, and people) are organizational and managerial concerns. This means that at this level, the leaders primary concerns are for resuts, either of the organization as a whole or of separate divisions, departments, or work groups. And how does a leader get these results? Through the level just below it. The level below consists of the trunk and branches, or the means. Items such as cooperation, communication, and commitment are the means through which the leader achieves results. These are interpersonal concerns – how people work together. No matter how much leaders want or demand quality, productivity, and profit, they can only get them through the cooperation, communication, and commitment of their people. These are the only lasting means. And getting these depends on the bottom level. The bottom level is the root system or the source of nourishment. In an organization, roots consist of character, principles, and values. These are personal characteristics. Because they are personal and below the surface, it is easy to forget about them. But not considering them is as risky to an organization as not considering the roots of my peach tree. Because they are the source of everything else, this is the highest leveraged area that a leader can work. For the items at each level it’s not usually a matter of having them or not having them. It’s a matter of degree. At each of these three levels, one might have a little or a lot. For example, [4] with the tree, one might have a little or a lot of fruit. With an organization, one might have little quality, productivity, and profit, or a lot. With a tree, the trunk might have only a small restricted conduit through which only a little nourishment flows, or it may have a wide, free-flowing conduit through which a lot of nourishment flows. With an organization, there might be a little or a lot of communication, cooperation, and commitment. A lot of it will lead to a lot of “fruits” – that is: quality, productivity, and profit – while a little of it will lead to only a little “fruit”. At the source, there might be a little or a lot of nourishment flowing from the roots of the tree. If there is a lot of nourishment flowing in front of the roots, then there will be a lot of nourishment going up through the trunk and branches to the fruit. If there is little nourishment coming in through the roots, there will be little nourishment flowing through the trunk to the fruit, and this, little fruit. For an organization there might be a little or a lot of characters, principles, and values. If there is little then there will be little cooperation, communication, and commitment. If there is a lot, there will be a lot of cooperation, communication, and commitment. The one feeds the next so that a lot of cooperation, communication, and commitment will produce a lot of quality, productivity, profit, and happy, productive, growing people. THE FLOW OF TRUST There is one more item that is important in both the tree and organization. It is the fluid that allows the flow. For the tree, it is water. Water must flow from the roots, up through the trunk, and into the fruit. It is this flow that carries the nourishment from the roots through the trunk and branches to the fruit. In the case of an organization, it is TRUST. Trust is the fluid which carries the nourishment throughout an organization so that the results can be achieved. Without trust, everything soon stops. For the organization, trust must flow at each level. At the managerial / organizational level, there must be managerial and organizational trust. The degree of trust at this level is a reflection of the degree of control enforced by management styles, systems, structures etc. High external control usually indicates that there is a little trust, low external control, on the other hand, usually means that there is a high degree of trust. Without high trust at the [5] managerial and organizational levels there will be little “fruit” or results. The most successful leaders work to nurture this trust. But they can only nurture it by attending to the level just below it. At the intermediate level, there must be interpersonal trust. Interpersonal trust is evidences by open communication, cooperation and teamwork. Without interpersonal trust, there will be little managerial or organizational trust. And little resuts. Think about it. Interpersonal trust – that is people trusting each other – is the key to managerial and organizational trust. This is why the most successful leaders work to nurture interpersonal trust. And how do they do it? By nurturing its source. And what is the source of interpersonal trust? Where does it come from? It is the inevitable counterpart of trust at a personal level. The term we use for trust at this level is “personal trustworthiness”. At the source there must be personal trustworthiness. Personal trustworthiness is evidenced by integrity, honesty, personal responsibility, follow-through, etc. Without personal trustworthiness, there can be little interpersonal, managerial or organizational trust. And personal trustworthiness comes from the character, principles and values of individuals. This is why the most successful leaders focus much of their attention on these items. Achieving trust at each of these levels are victories successful leaders must win in order to have successful organizations. Trust at these various levels are dependent upon each other. Managerials and organizational trust are dependent upon interpersonal trust. These are the public victories, or victories with other people. Interpersonal trust is dependent upon trustworthiness. Trustworthiness is a personal or private characteristic, a victory that must be won by indivuduals – a private victory. (extracted from “Sources of Leadership Success” by Dr. D.H. (Dee) Groberg) [6]
