This past week we had 25 yards worth of mulch put down in the back yard. It looks amazing but there’s only one problem: we didn’t pull the weeds before laying it down.

While the yard looks clean and finished, underneath that top layer of mulch are weeds growing deeper, thicker, and stronger.

But this isn’t about mulch or my backyard; it’s about your leadership.  

Where in your business are you layering on more mulch
to avoid dealing with a problem
you’re too busy or too afraid to uproot?

Instead of slowing down to deal with the weed, you keep building & running at the speed of light, hoping a little mulch will buy you more time.

• Avoiding letting a team member go who you know is a cancer and poor cultural fit because you’re afraid of the added workload their absence might create
• Ignoring a part of your process/system everyone knows is broken & it’s causing chaos for the team internally and impacting your customers.
• Avoiding a difficult conversation with a long-term loyal leader on the team who is clearly no longer suited for the role they’re in (and everyone knows it)
• Hiring more people to plug holes when the real problems are your lack of clear expectations, poorly defined roles, and lack of development for your current team members.

Everyone, including you, knows these (among others) weeds are still there beneath the surface of that layer of mulch you’re sprinkling over them.

But here’s what you may not fully realize:

These buried weeds are secretly draining your energy, stressing your team
and quietly costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars a year,
because you won’t step up as the leader, slow down and deal with them.

This is the work of a leader.

Making the hard decisions.

Having the difficult or uncomfortable conversations.

Choosing to put the long-term health of your organization over your own short-term comfort.

Here’s the thing about pulling weeds – it’s hard in the moment but afterward you ALWAYS feel better because you know you did the RIGHT thing.

Two Application Questions for You:

1. What’s one “weed” in your business you know you’ve been ignoring, putting off, or hoping will go away?
2. What’s the one action you need to take this week to deal with it vs. throwing more mulch on top of it?

Will you slow down, step up and pull that weed?

Don’t put it off any longer

You’ll be glad you did.

Your team is counting on you.