Here in the Algarve, my garden is teaching me.

I can water the lettuces every morning, make sure the fig trees have good soil and sun,  and stop the mint from overgrowing the oregano.  

But they grow to their own rhythm.

The cucumber plants will grow in the direction they decide is right for them, the oranges will ripen when they’re ready.

No amount of extra attention or willing them on will change their pace or direction.

And they all have their own timings and idiosyncrasies.

Out in my garden early this morning when the heat was still gentle and the light kind, I was weeding our kitchen garden when it dawned on me that it’s the same with my coaching work.

Each client has their own rhythm. I can prepare the ground: regular, confidential meetings; thought-provoking tools, challenging questions. I can create the right container for growth. But I can’t decide when the breakthrough comes, in what form or in what direction.

And that’s the humbling part: sometimes the insight you expect to land barely registers, while a throwaway question becomes the seed for something profound. Sometimes the “harvest” comes earlier than you think; other times, not it just needs a bit more time and space.

And as leaders, it’s tempting to push for quicker results. To believe we can accelerate the ripening process just through effort. To try to manoeuvre our teams into the direction we want. Or to expect all our colleagues to flourish in the same way.  But the garden and my clients, remind me that growth is its own creature.

Our role as leaders is to nurture, not to dictate. To trust the seasons. And to believe in the uniqueness of each individual.

That means being patient to let progress unfold quietly, in ways we can’t always see.

It means tending the environment so growth is possible: clear expectations; a supportive culture; access to the right resources.

It means noticing the early shoots: the subtle signs of change that tell you something is taking root.

And it means giving each of them the right balance of support and autonomy that they need.

The lesson? Leadership isn’t about forcing outcomes. It’s about cultivating the right conditions, observing, and being ready to act when the time is right.

Growth happens on its own timetable.  And the wise leader learns to work with that rhythm, not against it.

To notice the small signs of progress: a green fig swelling in the heat, a client quietly shifting the way they think about a challenge.

Some things are only ready when they’re ready.

💡How do you sit with ambiguity and patience as a leader?