Chapters of Leadership - Strengthening
Full Introduction Article
The Joy of Roots
Unique People Demand Unique Paths
As we move into the next chapter of our well | rooted story, it’s here we need to have a clear view of where it is we are actually going. You see, it's an easy thing to write and tell people to follow these 7 steps, 5 principles, 10 disciplines, 5 secrets etc. to success. Sadly these types of simplistic and reductionary efforts mostly offer a common approach in hopes to appeal to the masses. Yet, becoming well | rooted isn’t about ordinary or common. The details of your story are unique and profoundly complex as you are.
Well | Rooted isn’t here to create some prescriptive framework to add to the pile. Our vision in building well | rooted is to offer a traversed pathway to help others discover their unique way of rooting, discover why they are rooting and to examine what they are actually rooting into. Indeed there are shared experiences that translate from one story to another, but there is always a uniqueness to life requiring more than just cookie cutter solutions.
Sleep | Creep | Leap
Whether or not you realize it, if our content has resonated with you up to this point, it means you are no longer satisfied with engaging with the next fad of self-help thoughts. As we discussed during the settling chapter, this story is uniquely tailored and written for you. It is not something you can let someone else write for you and then simply take the credit once it's finished. There is no subcontracting this effort - so consider this your moment of replanting. Uprooted from the frozen ground of commonality and into the enriched soil conducive for your growth.
You have been replanted and becoming well | rooted takes time - the Nashville Conservation Corps suggests that a replanted tree has three phases - sleep, creep and leap. Much like our settling chapter taught us, the sleep phase is where the roots are going into the soil and beginning to extract the necessary nutrients. As you can imagine, the reality of growth is hidden from the naked eye. As it is with trees, so it is for us, in the creep phase the roots are spreading wider and deeper to obtain the strength needed for sustained growth - you could say the tree is being strengthened. Finally, in the leap phase, the tree has gained the necessary nutrients to stretch its roots deep and wide enough for the depth of the tree to be visible by the vertical growth exposed above ground.
The process for a replanted tree to go through each of these phases can last up to 3+ years. One of the important realities of being well | rooted is to understand that depth of leadership requires depth of roots. To have deep roots it will always take time. In a world of puddle deep leadership, create space to embrace the sleep, creep and leap process of your story. I know the patience and trust required in this chapter of strengthening can feel like something you endure. But, if you remind yourself of the frozen soil of commonness you came from, I would suggest you will stop enduring and actually embrace this moment. And within that embracing you may even discover a true joy in the roots.
Stay Rooted ~
