Trees Need Wind. Teams Need Adversity.

Biosphere 2 began in the 1980's as an experiment in creating artificial enclosed ecosystems - preparing for the colonization of other planets. Very cool.

In the highly controlled environment of the dome, researchers were faced with a mystery. As hoped, trees grown in the biosphere grew faster than their free-range brethren in the wild. However, once they reached a certain height, they would mysteriously fall over and die - nearly without fail.

What they discovered was that this perfectly crafted botanical environment was missing one key ingredient needed for any living being to thrive - adversity. There was no wind in the dome.

Wind induces stress in trees, which results in stronger roots and supportive tissue. Without wind, trees grow quickly but weakly. The researchers eventually discovered the right amount of adversity (in this case, wind) to introduce to the environment - enough to train the trees to be stronger, but not enough to permanently harm them.

Adversity in leadership and company culture is the same. Not only should the right amount of natural adversity be embraced as necessary, but teams benefit from leaders willing to induce a measured amount of it on purpose. This is how we build "anti-fragile" cultures, teams, and leaders. 

This is a core creative aspect of Leading Conflict as a leader that I explore in my book on the topic.

Some food for thought:

• Where am I overprotecting my current team?

• What challenge(s) can I strategically ask them to own more deliberately?

• Is every key performer on my team being asked to work on something that is hard for them (a "reach" for which success is not guaranteed, and for which even failure would make them stronger)?