At Iron Mountain Organics, one of the first signs I put up at the farmers market said: Co-conspirators with Nature.
It was a simple phrase, but it captured something profound—my role wasn’t to force the garden to grow. Nature already knew how to do that. My job was to support it. To notice when a tomato plant needed a stake to lean on. To guide a vine toward the sun. To nurture what was already designed for growth.
That same mindset shapes how I lead at ThreeWill.
Our people, like our plants, are wired for growth. They want to stretch, explore, and thrive. I believe our people want to “Choose to Succeed.” But they need the right environment—and sometimes a stake to lean on when things get uncertain.
🌱 Supporting growth means getting out of the way—without disappearing. It’s not about micromanaging. But it’s not hands-off either. It’s about being present behind the scenes: – Giving people room to try – Letting them make mistakes – Offering quiet coaching in moments that matter – Believing in what they’re capable of, sometimes before they do
As leaders, we’re not the ones doing the growing. We’re the ones preparing the soil, pulling the weeds, and gently tying things up so our teams can bear fruit.
That’s the kind of leadership I want to embody—on the farm and in the office. Still conspiring with nature. Just with a different kind of garden.
This post first appeared on May 2, 2025 in Sowing Success, my weekly LinkedIn newsletter on leadership and organic farming. Read the original on LinkedIn.
