Treating people according to the right thing can energise them and encourage them to achieve even more than you or they could have imagined.
While every tree, plant, bush, or flower starts out as a seed, the first development required to ensure life is that they must grow roots. If they don’t “take root,” as we put it, they will simply not make it. That’s why roots are so important.
But roots are important in people’s lives as well. We all have roots, and it’s important for us to remember our roots because they contain the essence of who we are.
When people come from humble roots and make it big, they are sometimes tempted to forget their roots and pretend that life is always wonderful. Others will always remember their roots despite what they have achieved or acquired, and this will be expressed in a form of humility. One can’t help but respect people like that.
Those who have made a success of their lives will be able to enjoy the fruits of their ideas, relationships, or efforts—the results of whatever it is they have done to achieve success.
How should we treat people? Should we treat them according to their roots? If so, then those who come from humble backgrounds will be looked down upon with disdain.
They will possibly be considered inferior or lesser. If they have come from a privileged background, we will possibly look up to them and admire them for what they already have. Are either of these options fair? Not at all.
On the flip side of the coin, should we look only at people’s fruits—what they achieve? This would also, it would seem, be a fairly superficial treatment because it would mean that someone who appears to have the trappings of success will be taken a lot more seriously than someone who doesn’t have such trappings. It would mean that their value is determined by what they have rather than what they are.
It would seem to be fair to all, that we should treat people according to both their roots and their fruits.
The roots of trees and plants are usually not seen. They’re also not very attractive to the eye. They’re gnarled and twisted, covered in soil. They would never be sought out for what they are (unless they’re carrots, beetroot, and the like)!
But roots are necessary to give the tree or plant life, nourishment, stability, security, and sustainability. That’s why they’re to be recognised and respected.
People’s roots do the same for them, and that’s why they should be recognised and respected.
Fruits, though, are the products of healthy roots that have nourished the tree sufficiently to ensure that, in due season, the tree produces its fruit.
It might be said that the fruit of the tree is the reason for the tree’s existence. That’s why so many trees and plants are named after their fruits.
Start treating people according to their roots and fruits, and you will get closer to engaging with the whole person. When you ask someone to tell you about themselves, you have the opportunity to learn about their roots. This will help you understand where they’re coming from in more ways than one.
By nurturing them and giving them an opportunity to grow, you will help them to produce excellent fruit, which then should also be recognised for what it is – a creation of value that can benefit themselves, their company, and their families. And in encouraging them to produce good fruit, you too will benefit more than you thought!
Alan Hosking is the publisher of HR Future magazine, www.hrfuture.net and @HRFuturemag. He is an internationally recognised authority on leadership competencies for the future and teaches experienced and younger business leaders how to lead with empathy, compassion, integrity, purpose and agility. He has been an age management coach for two decades and is the author of the parenting best seller What nobody Tells a New Father.
