Leaders don’t pull or push, they connect
Like a farmers’ market, great teams need leaders who do more than push or pull
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One of my favorite autumn traditions is the weekly farmers’ market. The smells of fresh bread and coffee on a cool fall morning, the colorful flowers and artwork that changes every week, the mouth-watering fresh produce from local farmers we see each week. And most importantly, the community. Wandering through all the stalls and meeting all the different vendors and customers is a Saturday morning tradition for us.
This particular Saturday, I was struck by more than the individuals. How do all of these people, each with something unique to sell, come together to create such an amazing array of flavors, goods, and experiences?
What might we as leaders learn from comparing our own role to that of a farmers’ market coordinator?
The Traditional Push/Pull Model of Leadership
There’s a pretty common image you see in articles about leadership versus management. On the left it shows a manager shouting through a megaphone at a miserable team that’s trying to pull something heavy. On the right, the leader has jumped in front of the team’s line…
