Organic Growth Requires Change: Where Are We in the Mix?

Seeding. Cultivating. Maturing. Composting. Nature's framework for Adaptive Change. Where do we find ourselves in the mix? What can organizations and industries, communities, families, and individuals learn about their growth trajectory, decline, or renewal? Having a conceptual framework might help.

It's Spring! Time for planting and growing. Time for new life, new possibilities - and Nature provides an outstanding exemplar. Navigating significant change suggests exploring Nature-inspired models for resilient adaptation, transformation, and sustainable growth. Becoming adept and malleable in each stage is the key to sustainability and renewal. Let's take a look at the stages of transformative change:

Seeding - In this phase, Imagination and Potential (Yin) energy abound! Where is opportunity opening? This is the time when we explore a wide range of possibilities for mission, service, and coherence with the wider "We." It is a time to express a bold vision, clarify deeply-held values, and express commitment to a mission that enlivens and delights us. This is when new ideas emerge, and energy surges. It's an exciting, generative time. We feel creative, hopeful, and energized. The potential for growth is present everywhere - wherever we find energy and joy to motivate us in our mission and passion for life. Note: Seeding requires healthy soil and plenty of compost!

Cultivating - This is the phase for Movement and Active (Yang) energy. Where is there opportunity to grow/expand our vision/mission? This is the time when resources are lavished on our mission goals. We prepare for long-term growth, and invest wisely in relationships, time, and energy. This is when our commitment deepens, through time and investment. We give nourishment in the form of energy, and do whatever is necessary to stimulate growth. If the seeds and soil were well tended, our vision begins to bear fruit, and we extend our roots for stability and connection beneath the surface. This is the time when our energy soars as we keep reaching out and going deeper. We are growing in strength, building endurance. We are extending, expansive, active, opening to the light.

Maturing - This phase is slow-growing, gathering energy around and within our organization. Where is there opportunity for networking? Ecosystem strength and wisdom that was acquired in the Cultivating Phase emerge to bring clarity and purpose through intentional processes. We are converting light energy into food, watering the roots for malleability and strength. We see great potential for the future through collaborative networking. We respond carefully to environmental, social, and governance challenges and instability. We benefit greatly from the mycelial networking beneath the surface from the Cultivating Phase, tapping into key feedback loops for robust resiliency and mutual protection. This is the time when growth is noticeable over a sustained period, when we are basking in the sunlight, and also beginning to notice our energy declining as daylight wanes. We are beginning to notice the signs of energy depletion, wilt, or decay. Pay attention!

Composting - This is the phase for rapidly decaying, transformative energy. Where is opportunity churning? Letting go of what is no longer working for healthy ecosystem resilience is necessary for renewal. Time for breaking down, purging, pruning, simplifying, dying back to the roots. Time for a rest to reflect and draw on stored energy reserves. Stored energy yields to transformation, where it will be infused with catalysts - like organic matter, moisture, wrigglers and aeration - for new ideas, new shape and scope of the mission. What has been learned in the other phases of the cycle is NOT lost. It contributes to the potency of re-seeding. Composting fertilizes what will grow anew, utilizing all the stored energy of what has been to initiate what is becoming... Seeds!

These are dynamic phases of change: Seeding - incubation; Cultivating - nurturing; Maturing - networking; Composting - decay; leading to Re-Seeding -new life. We flow through them, and the energy of each phase flows through and envelops us. The energy of a given phase pervades our organizational or personal ethos, and we can choose to embrace it, knowing that we are moving through it to another phase. Would we rather not go through maturing and composting? Would we rather not go through re-seeding or nurturing? We cannot skip one or the other phase if the whole is to thrive and be sustainable. All phases are necessary for growth. If we embrace the natural cycles of change, we can flourish and become adept at navigating challenges to organizational and personal resiliency and health.

Where do we find ourselves in the mix? Seeding? Cultivating? Maturing? Composting? Does it matter if we're growing?