Not just soil: Embracing regenerative qualities in leadership

The regenerative movement has mainly focused on farming and working with the soil, and has more recently spread into how we do business. What we’re beginning to see is there are bigger questions here, and if we only focus on the externals, we’re missing a big piece of the puzzle.

Sometimes it’s important to slow down to speed up.

When we’re feeling uncertain, it’s often good to overcommunicate. When you don’t know what’s happening, typically we go to the worst spot; where there’s no information, we go right down the rabbit hole. When there are too many things happening, connect and seek support—first connect with yourself, then with others.

Rodale emphasizes regenerative management itself. J.I. Rodale believed that how we work with the soil, and how we work with ourselves as leaders, and how we work with organizations is all the same metaphor. Regeneration is an inside-out process.

We’re out of touch with our own bodies and out of touch with our earth body, so we don’t respect it.

It’s not the circumstances you’re confronted with that matter, it’s how you respond. We need to train our brains to respond rather than react.

Important to be open to new things all the time; coming across as thinking you know how things are supposed to be done shuts down other people’s creativity.

We start by focusing on who we are.

What nourishes you? What are your most vital sources of energy? What is holding you back?

When we try to accommodate other people, sometimes we hold ourselves back.

Leading with questions can encourage more engagement and creativity.

Model a positive emotional tone. We all have tough days, but as a leader, one of our main responsibilities is to create the culture—we are constantly modeling and being observed, on all kinds of levels. Self-awareness is critical; without it, we project our own issues onto the culture.

Prioritize your integrity; do the right thing all the time, because we are challenged constantly about our values.

It can be challenging to listen to and welcome everyone's viewpoints, but it's crucial. We must encourage our own authenticity, and the authenticity of everyone else as well, even if we don't agree with them. We're seeing in society what happens if we don't have those skills and don't choose to bring out the best in each other.