Core Insight
Over the holiday weekend, the heat finally eased enough for one of my favorite jobs on the farm: transplanting lettuce into the garden.
Linda and I have developed a tradition around this job. While she is an incredible partner in helping get everything ready for the farm store, spending hours weeding beds or preparing garden rows is not exactly her idea of a relaxing weekend. She has plenty of yard work of her own with the rose gardens, flower beds, and keeping the pool in great shape.
But lettuce is different.
She loves our Iron Mountain Organics lettuce so much that every year she joins me for transplanting day. We work side by side, placing hundreds of delicate seedlings into the soil. At first they seem almost too fragile for the garden, yet they quickly prove they are much tougher than they appear.
At first glance, those seedlings don’t look ready. My instinct is often to give them another week.
But experience has taught me otherwise.
If I leave them in the trays too long, they begin to outgrow the space. Their roots circle inside the small cells, and their growth starts to slow. The very environment that helped them get started eventually becomes the thing that limits them.
If you are curious, I have a few pictures of the fine work Linda did this weekend on the farm.
The surprising part is that I don’t want these seedlings to be any bigger. In fact, younger transplants often establish themselves better than older ones. Once they’re in the ground, with room to spread their roots, they don’t just survive. They thrive.
Leadership has taught me the same lesson.
Sometimes we wait for people to look completely ready before giving them greater responsibility. But growth often happens because we trust them with the opportunity, not after they have already proven they can do it.
Three Concrete Details to Notice
1. The right conditions matter.
We waited until the holiday weekend, when the intense heat had finally eased, before transplanting. Timing can make all the difference. The same is true in leadership. Look for opportunities when people have the greatest chance to succeed, even if the conditions are not perfect.
2. Waiting too long can limit growth.
Seedlings that remain in trays too long become root bound and begin to stall. People can experience something similar. Holding onto responsibilities or delaying new opportunities can unintentionally limit someone’s development.
3. People are often stronger than we think.
Every year I am amazed at how quickly these delicate lettuce seedlings establish themselves once they have room to grow. I’ve seen the same thing with people. Give them meaningful responsibility, support them through the transition, and they often surprise both you and themselves.
Simple Closing Thought
Who on your team might be ready for a little more room to grow?
They may not look completely ready. Then again, neither does a tray of young lettuce seedlings.
The greatest act of leadership is not waiting until someone proves they are ready. It is recognizing their potential, giving them room to spread their roots, and trusting that they will grow into the opportunity.
Keep growing. Keep learning.
Farmer Tommy
This post first appeared on September 11, 2026 in Sowing Success, my weekly LinkedIn newsletter on leadership and organic farming. Read the original on LinkedIn.
