Leadership through the seasons

by: Dan Berger

The temperatures in the D.C. area have taken a turn for fall – the season of the harvest.

I read a recent article on Inc.com that discussed the four seasons of leadership. I like the analogy it gave: A farmer planted 40 acres of corn; when it came time for the harvest, he knew what his crop was going to yield – corn. The point of the story: you reap what you sow.

The same rule can be perfectly applied to leadership.

The article discussed what a leader’s focus should be during each of the four seasons:

Spring: A time to invest in your team. “Your efforts during the spring are a leading indicator of what you will reap in the fall,” Lee Colan, author of the article noted.

Summer: A time to protect your investment. Review your work that you did in the spring. How can you make adjustments so your investments will be more fruitful the following spring?

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