Every leader faces seasons that feel like winter—cold, harsh, and uncertain. Momentum slows, energy dips, and progress feels buried under layers of difficulty. But winter isn’t just a time to endure; it’s a time to prepare the fields for future harvest.
Here are eight ways leaders can turn winter into a season of growth:
Bundle up, Tighten Up, and Show up. Tough times require more resilience, not less. Farmers don’t stop tending fields because it’s cold. They protect what matters and keep showing up. In leadership, resilience is your insulation.
Sharpen Tools and Skills. Winter is when farmers repair plows and sharpen blades. Leaders sharpen skills. What you train in the cold becomes second nature when spring arrives.
Rest and Connect. Just as soil rests in winter, leaders need renewal. Relationships are the roots that hold firm beneath the frost.
Prepare and Maintain. In winter, barns are repaired, fences fixed, and equipment serviced. Leaders should do the same with systems and structures. Fix the hidden cracks before planting season.
Catch Up on Learning. Farmers study seed catalogs and plan next season’s crops in winter. Leaders should study ideas and strategies that prepare them for tomorrow’s growth.
Prep the Soil; Your Mind. Winter isn’t a wasted season. It’s when fields regenerate. Leaders, too, must pause to reflect, reset, and enrich the soil of the mind.
Deep Clean and Declutter. Clearing brush from fields is like decluttering your workspace and life. Clean fields and clear minds grow stronger crops.
Limit Media, Be a Data Stalker. A wise farmer watches the weather but doesn’t obsess over every forecast. Leaders must discipline their inputs, tracking what’s useful and ignoring the noise.
Winter is not the end of growth. It’s the hidden beginning. Leaders who embrace winter as a training and preparation season will be ready for the harvest when spring comes.
In my keynote Water the Bamboo: Unleashing Growth in Any Season, I help leaders see that winter isn’t wasted time; it’s preparation time. If your organization is in a “winter season,” I’d love to share this message with your team.