Stone Soup: 7 Lessons from a Olde Folktale for World Class Teams
A long time ago on a very cloudy day, an old traveler arrived at a small, sleepy village not far from here. The village rarely received visitors, especially visitors as odd as this fellow. He strolled into town, and inquisitive villagers appeared in doorways of thatched roof homes to catch sight of the odd fellow. A curiously tall hat sat perched upon his head. Tall, leather boots failed to match, and bore signs of frequent repair. With the exception of a missing button or two, his clothes, while dusty from trudging the country roads, were actually quite well maintained. The villagers remember how he made his way to the centre of the square and they remember two striking features of the unusual visitor; an incredibly warm smile and piercingly bright eyes. Thrown over his right shoulder, was a threadbare sack. Tied to the sack was large metal pot. No one could forget this unusual man.
Now, it had been a particularly cold winter that year. The villagers had very few provisions. In truth, they had taken to keeping what little they had for themselves. Upon sight of the old man, little Sophie O’Reilly, dark curly hair spilling over her shoulders, went through her house collecting a bit of bread and milk to share with him. He looked so hungry. Her father stopped her; “Sophie, we don’t have nearly enough to share. He won’t be here long. Soon that strange man will be on his way,” and with that he returned the small bit of food.
No sooner had the traveler reached the center of the village than he carefully placed the large pot on the ground and begun filling it with fresh water from the local well. In no time, the pot was full and a crackling fire had been started below that soon warmed the water to a rolling boil. The strange sight drew curious villagers from the steps of their stone homes to the open square for a closer look. Soon, the entire village was in the square, watching from a safe distance. As a faint cloud of steam appeared over the pot, the stranger carefully removed a large, smooth stone from his thread-bare sack. With a brief inspection, and a few passes of his hands, he dropped the stone into the pot with a big plop! Mr. O’Reilly spoke first. “Pardon me stranger, but what in heaven’s name are you doing?” he asked, with a note of contempt. “Why, I am making the finest, the most savory, the most generous pot of Stone Soup!” said the traveler in a loud voice, still hunched over the pot.
Suddenly he leapt to his feet, spinning around so quickly, that his tall hat tumbled to the ground, revealing a wild, white mop of curly hair. His eyes lit up, and a merry grin filled his whole face until they were lost behind the apples of his cheeks. “Have none of you ever enjoyed a large, hot bowl of Stone Soup?!” he asked, clasping his hands to his head in astonishment. Mrs. Stubbins’ characteristic shrill voice was heard from the back of the crowd, “Well, I for one would like to enjoy some Stone Soup. When will it be ready?” The old traveler picked up his tall hat, placed it back on his head, and with a look in his eyes that hinted that a great adventure had just begun, said, “Well, first we need some salt and pepper!”. “I think I have a little bit of salt and pepper at home”, said Mrs. Stubbins, I will be right back! The old man looked delighted and whispered so all could hear, “Oh, if only we had a small bit of potato and carrot”. Little Sophie O’Reilly couldn’t hold back any longer, “I will bring some potatoes!” she squealed, already bouncing in the direction of home. “Grab some carrots as well” yelled her father, whose stomach had not stop growling since the old traveler mentioned the savoury soup. “Now, we do need a bit of beef, and a few cups of barley”, said the traveler rubbing the whiskers on his chin. “Oh, yes! And some cabbage!”
Very soon the villagers dispersed in all directions. Everyone was eager to contribute something of his or her own to the Stone Soup. Not an hour had passed since the fire first crackled under the pot and now it was brimming over with a wealth of unique ingredients. The aroma danced in the nostrils of all in attendance as the promise of a large, hot bowl of Stone Soup created a shared enthusiasm. “The soup is nearly ready!” declared the old traveler, “We must have a place to sit together to share this fine meal!”. In what seemed the blink of an eye, large tables were set out. Bowls and even warm bread, enough for all, were placed on the tables. A moment later the old traveler whispered something in the ear of a certain small, curly-haired girl. “The Stone Soup is ready!” shouted Sophie, throwing her arms high. The people replied with a cheer. The old man pulled out a large wooden ladle from his thread-bare sack, and began serving very generous bowls of the aromatic Stone Soup for every villager in attendance. In their long memories, even the oldest villagers admitted they could not recall a more joyful occasion, nor a more festive atmosphere.
The clouds rolled back, and warm rays of sunshine glowed upon the animated community as they enjoyed their hot bowls of Stone Soup. When all had feasted more than enough, and children had fallen asleep in their parents’ arms, the curious old traveler collected his things to go. Bowing deeply, with his tall hat in hand, he thanked the kind villagers for their hospitality. “To where are you headed?” asked Mrs. Stubbins, in a surprisingly warm tone. “Why, there are countless other villages that have not yet enjoyed a generous helping of Stone Soup. I must go to them,” said the old traveler with warmth in his eyes. And with that, he placed his tall hat on top of his wild, white mop of curly hair, hoisted the thread-bare sack over his right shoulder, and set off down the dusty country road.
Setting the stage for lessons to emerge
There are many versions of this 300-year-old folktale; Stone Soup. There are French versions, German versions and Chinese versions, to name a few. The version provided above was written by a rather under-qualified Canadian author; yours truly. It is its own soup-mix of stories I came across growing up. Folktales are told to share important lessons or social values. Though the origins of the story date back several hundred years, the tale provides a number of important lessons for anyone launching a new venture, or leading a team.
Stone Soup’s seven lessons about building a world-class team
I’ve learned that one’s title does not make one a leader. A title might give authority, but a person is transformed into a leader at the moment when he or she generates and maintains a followership. Followership requires that people deem another person worth following. There are a few things that must happen for followership to continue. A follower must believe and experience that he/she has access to opportunities and a destination that he/she determines to be personally meaningful and worth his/her greatest effort. Hold up your bowl, here are seven lessons I’ve drawn from the folktale, Stone Soup:
1. A soup of just one ingredient is not exciting, and doesn’t sell. A leader’s job is to bring the pot, drop in a stone (a core problem or initial idea), provide the project with an initial identity (it’s going to be soup, not oatmeal) and then to bring together the right ingredients to make magic happen. The team members then bring their own distinct flavours and characteristics.
2. A leader must decide to bring something new into existence and then create an opportunity for others to make important contributions that flavour and add the defining richness. I have found that the quality of talent I attract to a team can be directly correlated to my ability to not be hung up on controlling how the product comes together, but rather to determine that something important needs to exist. As a leader I need to create space for others to play a role in what that something should become.
3. A leader’s job is to have a vision for how the soup should taste, and to taste the soup periodically; adding team members with particular skills sets at the right times. The leader must ensure that the right mix and proportions of skill sets are in play to create something truly delightful.
4. A leader must inject an ‘abundance’ mentality into environments characterized by ‘scarcity-thinking’. It is common for people to hoard their best ideas, to subscribe to a line of thought that there are a finite number of great ideas in the universe and that one must hold onto their best ideas for just the right time. A leader creates a safe place for others to contribute the very best of themselves to a meaningful project, and allows them to discover that just like a soup, their contributions are greatly improved when they mesh with the contributions of others. Ideas, like flavors, become richer when blended with different ideas and unique perspectives.
5. There is an important distinction between manipulative leadership and persuasive leadership; a division that simply boils down to the leader’s personal motivating intent. The story of Stone Soup could be a tale of manipulation; how a clever old man conned his way into a free meal. This is not, however, the intent of the story. Think about it — what deranged 18th century parents would put their kids to sleep with that lesson? For over 300 years, various iterations of this folktale have been used to teach lessons of collaboration, sharing, and the importance of each community member’s role in society: we are better when we all contribute. The skill of persuasion is a must-have in every leader’s tool belt. A leader’s job is to lead others forward to a place considered more beneficial and superior to the previous place. This always takes persuasion. On the whole, humans fear change. Talented people need to be persuaded that their contributions will play a key role in creating something important. Discouraged teams need to be persuaded to persevere. Misaligned team members must be persuaded back into alignment. If a leader’s personal motivating intentions are noble, he is persuading people; if they are not, then he/she is manipulating them.
6. A leader’s function is to build teams with initiative-oriented people; who understand what he/she is doing, love the problem (soup needs to be made!) and are able to see the connection between what they can offer, and what the leader is hoping to build (and I should add, people that want to add their own signature flavor).
7. Leadership has a lot to do with letting the distinct flavours and contributions of your team members take centre stage, to be the features of your product or service that really delight the sensory taste buds of your customers. As a leader, you must be willing to allow your contributions to not take centre stage. A leader that needs his/her contribution to be the sharp, permeating, even overpowering flavour in his/her product or service will soon see his/her team dwindle to become a party of bland, neutral, and overpowered contributors. Bold contributors require a confident leader who is comfortable playing the role of the stage manager, allowing the contributions of team members to shine.
Let me be the first to say that a brief interview of my team would reveal that I do not perfectly live out each of these leadership lessons day to day, though I hope they would say that these lessons I’m learning show up from time to time. I don’t think it is a stretch to say that long ago, in a far-away place the original writer of Stone Soup ever had these leadership lessons front of mind. No analogy is perfect, and stories have their limits. I cannot think of a team member at Bootkik who would be content to consider his/her contributions equal in value to bright, orange carrots in a big pot of soup. Stories are memorable, and as the author Lisa Kron asserted, humans are ‘wired for story’, wired to be drawn into a story, wired to listen attentively, and wired to seek personal connection to the narrative and its characters. Few things are more human than the impetus to gather together to share stories. A simple story can bring to light important lessons that may otherwise not have connected with a learner. Why not try using ‘story’ to highlight an important lesson with your team next week.
Questions for the reader to consider
What other lessons do you see in this old folktale?
Which well-known folktale could you use to communicate a valuable lesson to your team next week? (Feel free to use the folktale above, I’m told the author won’t mind at all.)
What is one thing you can do this month to allow the flavours of your team members to rise to the surface?
