“The Garden of Almost-Greatness” - A Leadership Parable

Once upon a time in a small company nestled between high ambition and mild dysfunction, there was a garden—well, sort of. It was a scruffy patch of land behind the office, once intended to be a community veggie plot.

A sign hung crookedly above it: “Planted with Purpose – 2020.”

Four years later, it looked more like a cautionary tale than a farm-to-table dream.

Danielle, the new COO, noticed it on her first week. “What happened to the garden?” she asked.

“Oh,” said Mark, the VP of Sales. “That was a team-building idea. We planted a few things, but no one really owned it. Watering schedules fell apart. People got busy. We meant well.”

Danielle nodded, staring at a lone tomato plant strangled by weeds. Later that week, she gathered her senior managers. “That garden,” she said, “is our leadership bench.”

Confused stares.

“We’ve planted good seeds—high-potential managers. But we didn’t invest the time, tools, or ownership to help them grow. Now we’re wondering why morale is low, turnover is high, and no one’s stepping up.”

Silence. Then a sheepish nod from HR.

“So,” Danielle said, “we’re going to try again. Not with tomatoes, but with leaders.”

That quarter, they launched a leadership development initiative. Managers were invited into a structured, supported program that focused not just on knowledge, but on habits, behaviors, and coaching. It was LEAP.

The changes didn’t come overnight. But month by month, team dynamics improved. Clarity emerged. Trust grew. Accountability took root. And funny enough, the garden out back got revived too.

Moral of the Story:
Potential doesn’t grow on good intentions alone. It takes watering. Tending. Coaching. Your managers might be a garden of almost-greatness—ready to grow, if given the right conditions.

This spring, help them LEAP!