Core Insight
This time of year I have been noticing how much diversity is showing up on the farm. The deciduous trees are showing off their bright colors, and our evergreen camellia bushes are putting out fall flowers. At the same time, the lettuce, beets, and kale are still providing food from the farm.
What I keep coming back to is that the beauty comes from more than one place at once. There is beauty in the new life of a row of lettuce, and there is beauty in the senescence of a red maple leaf. One is just getting started and the other is finishing its season, and the farm is richer because both are happening side by side.
I see the same thing in our work at ThreeWill. Max, our new team member, brings attention to detail in user experience. Tim, our veteran, has a steady hand helping new clients bridge to better use of their existing technology. They bring different gifts from different stages, and our clients are better served because we have both.
Three Concrete Details to Notice
1. Different plants carry the season in different ways
The maples bring the color, the camellias bring the flowers, and the lettuce, beets, and kale keep feeding us. No single plant is doing all of it. When I walk the farm this time of year, the beauty I see depends on that mix.
2. New life and long experience both have their beauty
A fresh row of lettuce and a red maple leaf at the end of its season are at opposite ends of growth, and I find beauty in both. A team works the same way. Someone new like Max notices details with fresh eyes, and someone seasoned like Tim brings the steady hand that comes with experience.
3. Diversity on a team is worth building on purpose
On the farm, the variety is part of what keeps food coming and color showing as the season changes. On a team, it means paying attention to the different strengths each person brings and making room for them, whether that is attention to user experience or a steady hand with a new client. I think diversity on a team is so important, and I am learning to look for it and value it.
Simple Closing Thought
The farm this fall is full of things at different stages, and that is a big part of what makes it beautiful. I want to lead a team the same way, valuing the new life and the seasoned experience side by side.
Keep growing. Keep learning.
Farmer Tommy
This post first appeared on November 1, 2026 in Sowing Success, my weekly LinkedIn newsletter on leadership and organic farming. Read the original on LinkedIn.
