Guest blog by Geetha Ramachandran, Executive Coach, Team Coach and award-winning Leadership Coach

As I walked through my local garden centre this weekend in early May, it struck me again how similar we were as human beings to plants. Three things seemed to enable a plant to reach its maximum potential: 

1. Recognise your core strength

Every plant has an innate ability. A chilly plant, aubergine, pepper, hydrangeas, roses, the list continues. To know your plant’s innate ability is at the core of helping it thrive. This also helps to know whether the plant needs sunshine or shade and how much water.

What is your intrinsic ability? Your super power… What is it that gives you a sense of flow as you engage in it? This is your core strength.

2. Remove your limiting beliefs

Deadheading is needed to encourage new blooms. Finding the tips that no longer serve the plant and removing them, helps the plant focus on new growth and bloom.

How often do we do our own deadheading? Ask yourself what ‘beliefs’ you have of yourself. If it is a limiting belief, re-assess and ask yourself – is it really true? Is this belief still serving me? If not, removing these limiting beliefs could help you grow.

3. Nurture as needed

The first time I saw the leaves of my Peace Lily plant ‘droop’ so dramatically, I thought I had killed it somehow. I then learnt this was its sign that it needed more water.

Just as a finger-dip test in the soil could tell you if the plant needed water. Similarly, a daily or weekly reflection done both in your professional and personal life, could help you know what your needs are in that moment. This helps you assess what you are doing well, what is not going well and enable you to act accordingly.

Combining these ‘ongoing reflections’ with a ‘vision’ led plan, will allow you to nurture yourself both in the short term and long term. 

These 3 tips of ‘Recognising your core strength’, ‘Removing your limiting beliefs’ and ‘Nurturing yourself as needed’ – however simple they may sound – if done well, will help you identify your true potential and move towards it in the fullest and healthiest way possible. Enjoy your growth!

This journey could also be done partnered with a Coach, who could help you gain clarity on your strengths, beliefs and needs.

About Geetha

Geetha is an Executive Coach, Team Coach and Leadership Coach, with 20+ years’ experience working with organisations in Europe, North America and Asia. She is the Founder and Director of Powerfully Human Coaching & Consultancy Ltd. 

With an Engineering background and working in senior management positions, she was first drawn to coaching in 2010 when exploring people dynamics behind high performance teams. She is an accredited Coach with the International Coaching Federation, a Leadership Circle certified Coach, a Change Management Practitioner and Agile Coach.

Geetha received the “Telegraph Woman of the Year” award in 2018 and “Made a Difference” award at Acumen Commercial Insights in 2014 for her work as a coach. She lives in London with her teenage daughters. More about Geetha.