Unexpected.

An uncommon thought ...

Water all your plants, then watch who grows.

Leaders too often think their people are robots: They can do what they can do, they can’t do what they can’t do, and none of that will ever change. But the truth is that people can grow dramatically, and that includes leaders. Talent is not fixed, nor is maturity, grit, or leadership ability. So don’t try to predict who’s going to succeed, and who isn’t. Treat them all fairly, including the quiet ones. Water all your plants. Some will shoot right up, and others will lie dormant for years before sprouting—but they can all help your team.

And that brings us to Nate Reichwage, our third-string goalie, far behind our top two. Our second year, we had a good team, but our top two goalies were struggling. Even worse, we were about to play Grosse Pointe South, who in our last three meetings had beaten us 5-0, 7-2, and 7-0. As Nate recalls, he was “clearly the least-skilled goaltender on the team.” But he worked so hard that I was willing to give him a chance.

I still expected to get blown out that night—but Nate made save after save after save, looking like he’d been doing it his whole life. I have no idea what happened that night, but he then became our starting goalie. He earned the team’s Most Improved Player award, and the nickname Darth Nater.

At the end of our second year we played Trenton again—the same team that had crushed us 13-2 the year before. But this time it was a battle. Nate played great, and it came right down to the wire. We lost 3-2, but their fans gave our players a standing ovation.

We finished our second season with 16 wins, the second-best in school history. But we never would have gotten there without Nate Reichwage. Your people will do amazing things, too, if you just water all your plants, and watch who grows.

“Talent is not fixed, nor is maturity, grit, or leadership ability. So don’t try to predict who’s going to succeed, and who isn’t. ”

What a great word, unexpected.