What does it mean to thrive?
This is a question we have been asking as a leadership team at work. As a business leader, I do not want our organization to just be a place people come to work. Certainly, work is important, and employment is a part of what we provide. However, if it just stops there, I think we are missing the mark. The reality is our team members spend a large percentage of their waking hours “at work”. If that’s the case, shouldn’t we be focused on creating a place where people can do more than, “just get through the day”? To put it another way, shouldn’t the aim be higher than “getting a paycheck and just surviving”?
As a leadership team, we want people to be better because they are a part of our organization. We want to operate from an abundance mentality, believing that helping our people win, helps the business win. We want to create an environment that allows our people to reach their potential. In releasing the potential of our team, growth, both individually and collectively, is the natural outcome. We want our people, and as a result, our team to thrive.
So, what does it mean to thrive? Merriam-Webster says, “to grow vigorously, or flourish,” and, “to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances.” As someone who runs a business focused on helping grass grow, I tend to think in terms of plants.
When you plant a flower seed, it is full of potential. It is designed to grow and become something beautiful and life-giving. Sometimes this can happen regardless of the circumstances. We have all seen flowers that have beaten the odds, growing and blossoming in the midst of dry, cracked soil that resembles a desert more than a garden. However, you would never choose that option if you were planting a seed in hopes of growing a flower. Instead, you would prepare the soil, creating the right environment for growth to happen. You would ensure the soil provides the necessary nutrients and resources to give the seed the best shot at reaching it’s potential–a beautiful, vibrant flower.
This is not just true of flowers. Creating the right environment for growth to happen gives a person or team the best shot of reaching their potential. It provides the opportunity to thrive.
Creating the right environment for thriving is both an internal and external process. The external piece of the puzzle is more obvious. Like a plant, or any living thing, people and teams need the proper resources to thrive. This looks different depending on the circumstances, but it basically comes down to asking, “What resources would this person or team need to reach their potential in the circumstances in which they exist?” By starting with the end in mind, it is easier to identify the elements necessary to create an environment in which thriving and growth is the natural outcome.
The internal process is a little harder to identify because it is not tangible. However, this doesn’t make it any less important. Different from most other living things, people, and the teams they are a part of, have to choose whether or not they will thrive. In other words, they have to decide if they will take advantage of the resources available in the environment in which they exist. This isn’t typically an issue with a flower. If the proper elements are there, the flower is more than likely going to thrive whether it “wants to” or not. Humans, on the other hand, can choose to ignore the opportunities presented to them.
Why would someone do this? We will dig into this deeper in a future post, but it comes down to the internal narrative they tell themselves. If they do not believe they can or should thrive, the chances of getting their are greatly diminished. Despite the availability of the resources necessary to thrive in an environment, we as human beings have the option of choosing to just survive. I am sure this is not a new revelation to you. We can all think of examples of this reality, whether in our own lives or in the lives of others. Without the creation of an internal perspective, or environment, that tells a person that thriving is a possibility for them, thriving often remains beyond their grasp.
What does this mean? Many things, but for today it means we need to consider not just the resources we are providing but also the perspective we are reinforcing when creating environments. If we want people to thrive, they need the external resources to do so and the internal narrative to follow through. A thriving environment promotes both of these elements.
Now it’s your turn. Think of the environments on which you have influence. Are they conducive to thriving? Do they provide the necessary resources and reinforcement? How can you promote thriving wherever you go?
Are you thriving? We will start there next time.
James Belt
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