Introduction
Prepare To Be Green Fingered!

This is simple – no stuffy theory or
jargon and you don‟t need a degree in people to
understand this book. Just take it in and let it make
sense in your garden, or the world in which you
socialise with people; whether that‟s work, rest or Refresh your
play. The book is aimed to fast-track your viewpoint, challenge
development and speed up the progress, growth and
success of your people. your current
situation or thinking
Read it from start to finish or dip in and out – this
could be a book that you will want around for some
and engage in the
time, so keep it handy. You‟ll know when it‟s time to concept. Some people
pick it up! struggle with the
Can you dig it? – yes you can! Have some metaphor at first but
belief in your ability. The fact is that anyone can soon get into the
improve their management skills if they have the swing of things and
will, commitment and determination to do it.
quite often amaze
others with their
passion for using the
gardening metaphor
to unleash a number
This book is for; of visual and tactical
Managers
Leaders ways of changing or
Human Resources and Trainers modifying personal
Teachers
Consultants beliefs and values
Managers of Managers or using the metaphor
- Head Gardeners about people
Parents management.
Anyone with a responsibility for others

Get with the basics –
Plants = People and People =
Plants
In fact the gap between the
metaphor and us is not as wide as
you may think.
We share half the same DNA as a
banana and our blood is almost
identical to the pigment (chlorophyll)
found in plants, although our blood
contains molecules of iron, whereas
plant‟s contain molecules of
magnesium… so there!
As a taster for what you will see and
hear in the Ican Grow People Garden,
We share half
here are some of the concepts we will
be visiting. See how you get on with
visualising and interpreting what they
might mean.
the same
Answer the following questions DNA
as a banana
and see where your mind and the
metaphor take you.

Reading this book won‟t transform you into the greatest “People
Person” ever created, but it may just help you to think up some ideas
about how to get more from your people and your management role.
If your people are the difference between the survival and death of
your business, department ,work function or even your job then getting
to grips with some of the tips in here will help you.
The learning process.
1. Read a part of the book
2. Plan how you will apply a “Growth” tactic
3. Apply it back in the workplace
4. Gather feedback
5. Evaluate the success
6. Rationalise and put into context
7. Try again … and again … and again
You won’t learn by sitting on your peachy behind all day!

The Promotion Stakes! – Winning and Losing in Management
Gardener promotion? If I was looking to promote a gardener, or transfer them
into my garden, I would first look at their current gardening efforts. I‟d do a bit
of digging around like, checking their plants and talking to visitors to the garden
for their opinions. I would get an idea of how good they are by observing and
analysing what results they achieved. But probably even more importantly how
they achieved those results. A manager who can grow fantastic plants in a
business with a poor culture/climate could be more competent than a manager
in a business where the rich and nutritious organisational culture/climate or the
ease of achieving results has done most of the work for the manager, with little
gardening expertise required.
What level people gardener are you?
1.Prize Winner = Coaching and mentoring other weaker managers
– achieving the best results, admired and respected from all
angles. Has a very high performing team.
2.Highly Commended = Relishing in the role and sharing skills
with others – achieving great results. Has a high performing
team.
3.Competent = Applying skills and knowledge 100% of the time –
achieving good / expected results. Has a good team.
4.Average = Applying varying levels of management skills and
practices and actively learning / applying new techniques in
role – achieving mixed results. Has an average team.
5.Poor = not learning or coping in role – achieving weak results
and produces a weak team.
6.Detrimental (counter management) = Not supported or not
interested in role – not achieving at all – Teamwork is very
weak or non-existent.
Average, Poor and Detrimental could be classed as the
“accidental” gardener or “forced” to grow gardener.
Work can be done to improve the skills and knowledge of 4 to
6 as long as there is a will by the manager to be more self
aware, demonstrate candour and take action upon
constructive feedback in a positive way.

One key trait I have noticed
in managers who developed
themselves through the levels
is their self belief in their
ability to succeed over time.
Having a positive mind-set
that is resilient to the
obstacles, challenges, mishaps
and mistakes that will
inevitably happen. A good
gardener gets over and around
these things quickly. It‟s a bit
like a potential Michelin
starred chef who is learning to
improve a dish shortly after a
poor review by a food critic,
or a potential Man Booker
Prize winner getting over the
literary critics who slaughtered
their first book. The next time
is just another amazing
opportunity to get it right and
these managers saw
management in the same way.
No one leaves school a great
manager of people. We all
have to learn over time in
many different ways but
mostly through our
experiences. The good, the
bad, and inevitably, the ugly.

Your style and approach to getting
the best out of your plants.
Management has changed over the
years. A few years ago the role of a
Manager was to get things done by
“using” people, to achieve results
without having to think too much
about how they got them. Certainly in
the early days of management being
defined, the emphasis was on rules and
regulations to help guide people to
manage. But times have changed and
now managers want and need to work
harder and smarter in a world where
Today’s employees demand more people understand what makes a good
from their manager and are more manager or not.
willing to say, and stay, with a good
manager or leave to find someone
who is. We also work in a world
where the techniques and skills of a
good manager are tested daily with
the ever changing needs, wants and
desires of emotional and intellectual
people. People are now realising that
managing others should be an
interesting, exciting and engaging
pastime rather than a chore or a heavy
weight to carry around in return for
the status, responsibility and /or
additional financial reward that comes
with being „the boss‟.

When all is said and done, management is not rocket science, and neither is
gardening. It just requires the right outlook and attitude to achieve. You need to
apply just a few simple rules and techniques and it is something you should really
want to do, not feel that you have to do. There are a lot of people who won‟t
make great gardeners (or managers) because they don‟t really want to be one. Or,
they want to be one but for all the wrong reasons. For some people status,
prestige, power, perks, benefits and “just for the money” come before plants or
people. I think I could tell if my managers‟ motivations were not in the right
place.
Management should not be viewed as burden or a worry. You should not feel
alone or out of control. You may eventually see Management as an interesting
pursuit or paid hobby. You have to invest time in the boring, mundane and tiring
jobs in order to really appreciate the great sunshine days when you can sit back,
acknowledge all the results you have achieved and enjoy the satisfaction of
knowing all the hard work was worthwhile to you, your people and the business.
But first things first – the next few pages should help you sow the seed of
effective management firmly in your head. In fact, the next few pages go a long
way to explaining a lot of things.