Every leader wants to build a healthy work culture. Yet every leader also has employees who resist new initiatives, question every decision, complain to co-workers, or quietly undermine change. If you’re not careful, those few employees can consume your time, energy, and attention.
There’s an old saying: What you water grows.
That’s true in gardening. It’s also true in leadership.
I was reminded of that while rereading my book, Enough! Eradicate Bullying & Incivility in Healthcare. At the beginning of Chapter 9, Could Kindness Be an Antidote to Bad Behavior? I included this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
Kind hearts are the gardens,
Kind thoughts are the roots,
Kind words are the flowers,
Kind deeds are the fruits…
Take care of your garden and keep out the weeds.
What struck me recently is how often leaders spend most of their time watering the weeds while leaving the flowers and sprouts to fend for themselves, which does NOT build a healthy work culture.
Every Team Has Flowers, Sprouts, and Weeds
While every team is different, many leaders recognize a familiar pattern.
A small group eagerly embraces change. A small group resists it. Most employees watch to see what happens before deciding where they stand.
Unfortunately, leaders often spend most of their time trying to win over the resisters because they’re usually the loudest voices in the room. Meanwhile, the people doing the right thing receive very little attention.
It’s time to change that. If you want to build a healthy work culture, stop focusing most of your attention on the weeds and start tending the entire garden.
Flowers
Flowers are the employees who consistently model the healthy work culture you want. They solve problems instead of creating them. They help co-workers, welcome new employees, speak respectfully, and step up when needed.
Because these employees are dependable, leaders often assume they don’t need much attention. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Flowers need sunlight, recognition, development, and opportunities to lead.
If you ignore your flowers while constantly tending to the weeds, don’t be surprised when they start leaving.
Leadership Strategies to Nurture Your Flowers
- Catch them doing something right.
- Thank them specifically, not generally. Handwritten cards are amazing!
- Invite them to mentor others.
- Give them opportunities to lead projects or committees.
- Ask for their ideas and feedback.
Don’t let your flowers become invisible.
Sprouts
Sprouts represent most employees. They’re learning, growing, and figuring out which behaviors leaders reward and which behaviors they tolerate. They’re also paying close attention to how leaders respond when someone behaves badly.
Here’s the danger. If sprouts spend most of their time surrounded by weeds, they begin looking like weeds. Culture is contagious. Good behavior spreads. So does bad behavior.
That’s why leaders must intentionally spend more time with their sprouts. Protecting and developing them is essential to a healthy work culture.
Leadership Strategies to Protect and Grow Sprouts
- Coach them early and often.
- Celebrate progress, not perfection.
- Pair new employees with positive role models.
- Address inappropriate behavior before sprouts begin accepting it as “normal.”
- Help them build confidence before cynicism takes root.
Remember, today’s sprouts become tomorrow’s flowers…or weeds.
Weeds
Weeds choke a healthy work culture. And here’s where many leaders make their biggest mistake.
They spend 80% of their time focused on the weeds: the chronic complainers, the employees who resists every change, the gossipers, underminers, and saboteurs who derail improvement efforts, and the clinically excellent but culturally toxic employee.
Should you ignore them? Absolutely not.
But you also shouldn’t allow them to monopolize your time. Your job isn’t to nurture resistance. Your job is to manage it. Then return your attention to growing the rest of the garden.
Four Ways to Stop Watering the Weeds
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Keep accountability conversations short, clear, and focused on behavior.
Don’t argue, don’t defend your decisions, and don’t get pulled into endless debates. Stick to observable behaviors. Try this simple framework when engaging them in conversations:
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- The expectation is…
- I noticed…
- The impact was…
- Moving forward, I expect…
- Can I count on you?
Stay calm. Be consistent. Repeat until they step up or step out.
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Stop trying to “turn” them.
One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is believing they must gain everyone’s agreement. You don’t. Employees don’t have to agree with every decision. They do have to behave professionally, even when they disagree.
Try saying:
“I understand you don’t agree. That’s okay. What’s not okay is actively or passively sabotaging our efforts.”
Or:
“I can see you’re resistant to this change. If you have a better solution, I’m happy to hear it. If not, I still expect you to support this change.”
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Protect the sprouts.
Don’t place negative employees in positions where they can influence new staff. If they’re in a charge role, remove them. Don’t ask them to precept new nurses, even if they’re clinically competent. New employees start as sprouts. Protect them from resistance and negativity before those behaviors take root.
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Know when it’s time to pull the weed.
Every gardener knows some weeds respond to treatment. Others keep coming back. When someone repeatedly refuses to meet behavioral expectations despite coaching, feedback, and accountability, continuing to tolerate the behavior can damage your healthy work culture.
Work closely with HR. Document behaviors. Follow your organization’s policies. But don’t mistake endless patience for effective leadership. Sometimes removing one weed allows the rest of the garden to flourish.
One Question Every Leader Should Ask
At the end of each week, ask yourself: Where did I spend most of my time?
With the flowers, with the sprouts, or with the weeds?
Because wherever your attention goes, that’s what grows.
The Bottom Line
Every organization has flowers, sprouts, and weeds. Flowers deserve recognition. Sprouts deserve coaching and protection. Weeds deserve accountability.
So, this week, take a walk through your garden.
Water the flowers. Feed the sprouts. Manage the weeds.
That’s how you build and sustain a healthy work culture.
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Ready for practical skills and tools to help you cultivate a healthy workplace culture? Explore the Healthy Workforce Academy, where you’ll find resources to help you grow a healthier, more respectful work culture.
