It’s usually a piece of cake to extract these weeds. I just put on my pink gloves, grab a spare trash bag, and position myself to pull. However, what never ceases to amaze me, is how much I greatly underestimate the size of the weeds until I pull with all my strength. A relatively small green plant emerging from the soil typically has a root system, below the soil, 3-4 times its size. At this point, I slow down, become more careful and deliberate with my pulling, so as not to cause greater damage to nearby plants. Sometimes, the pesky weed may even have roots wrapped around one of my more beautiful plants (that I actually desire in the garden) about two feet away.
So what does this teach me about leadership? As I once wrote my Principal in an email, when we make decisions as Administrators, “a sneeze can become a hurricane.” How? Every change we make has an impact.
Back to the weed example, I relate this chore mostly to making decisions involving staff members. No decision is small when dealing with people. There are always interconnected networks that exist and don’t always meet the eye. Much like a weed in a garden, we as Administrators may not see the full impact of our decisions, until we are already midway through pulling the “weed” out of the soil. (Note: I am in no way calling staff members weeds 
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As a fairly new Administrator, I aim to look at all angles before making decisions and, when making people-based decisions, think about the scope of the potential impact. How can I pull the weed from the soil without disrupting the beautiful nearby roses? How large will the root system, below the soil, be? What is the long-term consequence of leaving the weed in the soil, where it will ultimately grow over time?
Something to think about…
