The Root and Fruit Principle

The Root & Fruit Principle gives a clear commission to every leader. Certainly, we must offer vision: a compelling picture of the future we desire and how to get there. Without this shared vision, an organization or team or family has no clear purpose or direction.

To be fully grasped, however, a vision cannot remain abstract. Words and images may help explain it. But a vision gains full power, depth, and legitimacy only as it takes on flesh. This must begin in the life and character of the leader, even if imperfectly. Only charlatans sell what they do not possess. The future we seek for others must start in us. So the leader’s first imperative is to embody the vision they seek to effect in the world.1

The leader’s second imperative is just as important. We must guard and grow the people who join us in pursuing the vision. If the best fruit rises from healthy trees, then – in the long run – the thriving of those we lead is even more essential and primary than our external strategy and effort.

But the opposite is also true. People and communities that evidence spiritual, mental and physical health yield further health. Those whose souls are alive and well will produce…and what they produce will be of enduring value.

They dream big dreams and venture great risks. They persevere in disappointment, rejoice in success, and find reward even in the challenge of setbacks. Their undertakings flash with creativity, crackle with vigor, and ultimately give results of which others may only dream.

We can call this the “Root & Fruit Principle”: from the root of healthy souls, good fruit will rise in time.