Leading Rooted and Connected

What’s the largest organism in the world?

It’s not the African bush elephant, nor is it the blue whale.

It's a grove of aspen trees in Fishlake National Forest in south-central Utah called Pando.

Covering 108 acres and weighing 6 million kilograms, Pando is the heaviest and one of the oldest known living organisms. While it looks like thousands of individual aspen trees, underground it is one massive, collective, interconnected root system.

Pando (Latin for “I spread”) reminds us of the importance of staying connected below the surface. When leaders succeed “above ground” it can be tempting to take the credit. But rooted and grounded leaders remember that no one succeeds on their own. We’re connected to many other elements in our “root system” (i.e. our upbringing and background, a committed work team, friends who believe in us, family who love us no matter what, etc.).

No leader is a lone aspen tree.

When the world praises the lone individual above ground, commit to being the kind of leader who remains rooted and connected with others below the surface.