July | Abundance

“Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.”  ~Steve Maraboli

We are moving into the time of abundance on the farm — everything is in full bloom: Eggplant are sizeable enough to eat, we can’t keep up with harvesting peas and I’m wondering how to preserve them over fall/winter. It’s a wondrous time and I can also feel the countdown — we’ve passed the summer solstice and each day will mean less light. This is the paradox of abundance — it is to be enjoyed to its fullness while it’s here.

A leader I coach was reflecting on her team — they are in flow right now. She has all the right people in the right seats and ‘they’re special’. They are each unique, incredibly talented folks who are thriving in their roles, committed to the mission of the company, and love working together as a team. ‘And,’ she said, ‘I know it’s just what’s right now. That this is indeed special and that as we grow it is not likely to be the same.’ So we talked about how to encourage the joy of things for her team, their productivity and how to role model the foundations to maximize the possibility of ongoing greater success and cohesion as a team.

For her that looks like establishing a team charter, building a leadership development for her next team lead and coming together IRL to work, hang out, and bond strengthening. The abundance that is here now may shift over time.

On the farm, we will look to both enjoy and preserve everything that comes to fruition. I’ll find new ways to preserve sugar snap and English peas and relish the joy of adventures in new recipes, flavours for the fall/winter to come and their freshness in multitudes of dishes in the now.

Journal Prompts

What is your way to acknowledge your current abundance? How will you preserve some for the future?

What are the management practices you can offer your team or up-and-coming leaders in support of the challenge or growth you are facing?

Dive Deeper

More resources on abundance:

Listen: Coaching for Leaders: How to Help People Thrive with Jim Harter

Read: The Secret Ingredient of Thriving Companies? Human Magic.

What’s On Repeat

Songs we can’t get enough of:

• Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
• Superbloom by MisterWives
• Another Day of Sun by Justin Hurwitz

Author bio

Today’s edition of the L@S Newsletter was written by Michal Berman. Mic is a certified coach, founder of L@S, and a former executive at companies like FreshBooks, FundThrough, and Mozilla Firefox.