As spring approaches, I itch to plant and get my hands in the dirt! I have been a coach and consultant in private practice since 2011, and my experience has taught me several things. All of them are similar to tending a garden.

• You think you are growing perennials, but you only get one season of growth. I love tulips, and I wonder if they will bloom every Spring. They did in one area of my yard but never reappeared in an area I tended with great care. It is a reminder that I always need a variety of seeds in the soil so that some growth or work occurs.
• You often need a wheelbarrow of crap to help your garden grow. Crap work is the stuff we wish we could avoid, like administrative details, maintaining a social media presence, chasing invoices, scheduling, or networking. My wheelbarrow may not look like yours, but we all have to fertilize and pull some weeds to get a garden to grow.

• Sometimes, the plants in the neighbor’s yard grow in mine. Thanks to the networking efforts of birds and bees, I have beautiful bushes with purple blooms growing in spaces I did not actively create. This is also true in practice; often, our best work comes through the generosity of our colleagues. Stay in community and enjoy how your garden can benefit from someone else’s careful planting.
• Have a variety of flowers in your garden. It can be a bit boring only to have red petunias. True beauty comes in different heights, variations, and colors. This requires some creativity and careful attention each season to what you plant. In practice, we cannot always assume that one client organization will always renew its contract. We need an assortment of small, medium, and large-size connections that keep the garden mixed and diverse. If one bush starts to die off, it creates space for something else to grow.
• Last, not everything has to be a flower. Pumpkins can grow like crazy, and so do strawberries (unless you have a black lab who believes everything in the yard is his salad. He once ate an entire zucchini patch). As the garden expands, you may want to rotate what you grow or add a walking path, koi pond, or some trees. Each of these can represent different parts of your practice that are significant.

You do not have to be a solopreneur for this garden metaphor to resonate. Your professional garden represents relationships, projects, work streams, divisions, and responsibilities. As Spring descends, consider not only what you plant in your actual garden at home but also your professional one.

Is your garden growing by design, or is it accidental? What needs pruning or watering? Is the soil ready for something new?

My family loves movies! We are nerdy to the point of putting notes on our calendars when a beloved film, seen on the big screen, is coming out on DVD/Blu-ray. The date it arrives in stores, we make a special trip to Target and then watch it soon after from home. We like to own our favorite flicks. We also do not just watch them over and over - we turn on all needed sound systems, and the movie is amplified all over the house.

Amplification is the process of increasing the volume. When something cannot be heard, we plug it into a system that amplifies the sound. We can also amplify the voices of our colleagues.

One of my friends and colleagues Dr. Kerry Mitchell, sent me an article written by Claire Landsbaum about the shine theory – ‘if you don’t shine, I don’t shine.’ It was an article about the female staffers in the Obama administration and what they did to ensure female voices were heard.

​Two simple things resonate from this article!

1. Repeat the person’s name! Often ideas are born, discussed, modified, and tweaked until the person who originally had the suggestion is no longer associated with its birth. When a female has a good idea, it is often lost and reclaimed by men at the table. To amplify someone’s voice, be sure to acknowledge that person by name!
2. Repeat the idea! When you associate the idea with the person who came up with it and repeat it as a good idea - you amplify that person’s voice!

This concept of amplification may seem simple, but I have been to a lot of meetings where great ideas are shared, and no one responds. Perhaps it is a habit, competition, cultural norms, or a matter of only speaking when called. It is a generous act of leadership to amplify a person by name, repeat a good idea, and give credit. It does not take a vast speech or a lot of context; it can be a few simple words to help someone shine. Sometimes simple things make a big difference!

Who will you amplify in your next meeting?