Why Your Workforce Needs The ‘GROW’ Theory of Management and Professional Development

By Jeff McManus, Keynote speaker at the upcoming 54th Annual TTA Conference

President John F. Kennedy once walked up to a janitor at NASA and asked, “What do you do here?” The janitor responded, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” That janitor saw the big picture of his work.

People need leaders to connect the dots for them so they are able to see the larger meaning in what they do. If you haven’t done so for your team, you aren’t tapping into the leadership culture of motivation.

In my role as the University of Mississippi’s director of landscape services, and airport and golf operations, a position I’ve held since 2000, I’ve had the opportunity to transform our workplace. This has been accomplished mainly by empowering our employees with the guidance, support and tools they need to do their job.

My GROW theory is a management and professional development approach based on the belief that all humans either strive for or have within them the elements of Greatness, Resiliency, Opportunity and Wisdom — they just need a fertile environment to GROW.

Here’s how the GROW system works.

Greatness

What is greatness? A lot of people throw that word around, but it’s not an abstract, impossible to define quality. It’s encouraging people to be the best at whatever they do.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell liked to walk around and talk to workers. He was talking to parking attendants at the Pentagon about how they determine who gets the closest and best spots and therefore wouldn’t have to wait as long to get their cars back. They told him frankly that it mostly came down to who treated them the best, who engaged them and who was friendly. Those people’s cars wound up in the prime spot while the more standoffish customers who looked down their nose at them wound up in the back.

Leadership isn’t that complicated. When you make people feel good about what they do, they want to do more of it and do it better for you. The key to them achieving greatness is knowing that they are important. Lift your team up and you will also build up their greatness.

Resiliency

We all know a whiner. It’s the accountant who gets upset when tax season rolls around again like it does every April or the butcher who gets flustered the week before Thanksgiving when there’s a rash of customers picking up their holiday meats. Whining undermines your credibility. You should strive to build a team that can handle adversity without falling apart.

We build a resilient culture by addressing what we don’t like about the chores we dread and then try to make them as bearable as possible. We are winners because we don’t whine. Instead, we focus on finding a way to win.

Years ago, our landscape team would get overwhelmed by the task of cleaning up the Grove at Ole Miss following home football games. It’s tough work to clean up after a party that can grow to as many as 100,000 fans sometimes, but we found a solution. We decided to start working a few hours after the end of each game, and we also added volunteer groups to pitch in. Now, on the day after a football game, the campus looks pristine. Our efforts have led to much recognition and also coverage from The New York Times for how quickly we can dispatch 90 tons of gameday garbage. We framed the Nov. 1, 2014 issue of The New York Times as a trophy for our win.

Opportunity

When you’re a mentor, you have a chance to listen, to observe and to teach. The key is to show someone how to do the work and empower them to do it themselves, possibly leading them to find a better method. By doing this, you have given them an opportunity to master something new. Strong leaders are also approachable, being available to their employees who may have a question or a suggestion.

People think mentoring and training requires massive amounts of time. It can take a significant commitment, but it’s also like sharpening an ax. Sharpening an ax may slow you down for a little while, but if you don’t sharpen it, eventually you will just be bumping into the tree and not even cutting it. But a sharp ax will save you time cutting trees in the long run, just as mentoring a younger person to learn some of the work you do will save you time later.

What if a student worker with your organization went on to become the next Steve Jobs? Can you imagine the satisfaction of knowing you played a role in their development? Savor opportunities to pass on your wisdom.

Wisdom

Encourage your team members to read about productivity, customer service and other good work habits. Push them to relentlessly pursue workplace wisdom. In our landscape department, we watch motivational DVDs, TEDx talks and other reference materials to generate deeper conversations about what it means to be mission-driven, or what it means to be enthusiastic, among other topics. We also have leaders in various fields address our team on occasion.

Leaders develop their people. It’s crucial because everyone leads at least one person — themselves. If everyone leads themselves, the work improves. Morale also picks up because the entire team sees everyone pulling their weight and doing the right thing.

It’s awesome to watch others take ownership of their careers and carry out the steps to propel themselves and others to new heights. If you see your team members doing this, you can bet you’re handling this whole leadership thing the right way.

About the Author

Jeff McManus has a Bachelor’s degree in Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture from Auburn University and is the recipient of the 2016 Horticulture Alumni of the year. He is also an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist. Jeff has been Director of Landscape Services with the University of Mississippi since 2000. Jeff and his team have gained national recognition through Ole Miss winning the National Professional Grounds Maintenance Society Best Maintained Campus twice, and named most beautiful campus by Newsweek in 2011 and the Princeton Review in 2013. His new book, “Growing Weeders into Leaders — Leadership Lessons from the Ground Level” (Morgan James Publishers, Sept. 5, 2017), focuses on cultivating excellence among staff. He is also the author of “Pruning Like a Pro.” Learn more at www.jeffmcmanus.com.