The hedge and the vine

Sometimes teams thrive in a tightly constrained environment. Mapped processes, clear KPIs and quality standards, approved tools and techniques. The boundaries are clear, and the questions are based on the work at hand, not how it’s being approached or what success looks like. Their practice is like a hedge in a garden: Aggressively trimmed into a specific shape, as per the wishes of the gardener.

Other teams work better when they’re more like a vine. They have a core way of working, but beyond it their tendrils reach out, driven by curiosity or the shortcomings of their core. These are teams that grow and evolve over time, adapting to changing conditions and finding new ways to get stuck in.

Each one is right in the right setting, and most often a bit of each is what’s required. But as a leader just ask yourself: Do we need to be more hedge? Or more vine?