Are you burying nuts or planting seeds?

Colleagues,

How intentional are you?

My mom sent me this cartoon last week and it resonated with me:
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If you are a squirrel, you bury nuts. It is what squirrels do. But sometimes those nuts grow into trees.
 
As leaders, we run around doing things. It is what we do. And sometimes, those “things” grow into something special that yields goodness and sustenance.
 
What if we were more intentional? What if we actively thought about and tried to create things that would grow? It’s more than just doing things. Every interaction we have with another person is an opportunity to plant a seed. 
 
Maybe that earnest question you ask a colleague about a family member decreases their sense of isolation.
 
Maybe that comment about their unique strength empowers them to go do something great.
 
Maybe that alternative perspective you provide helps them create something unique.
 
Maybe those things will happen by accident, like the nut growing into a tree. Or, those things could happen routinely, by planting acorns and nurturing oak trees - intentionally.