- Leadership Pulse
- Posts
- Lead Like a Gardener
Lead Like a Gardener
The Quiet Work That Grows Big Things
Ikechukwu Okoh
August 04, 2025
In partnership with
THE LEADERSHIP PULSE
Good morning, and welcome to a new week.
Please subscribe to our weekly newsletter if you have yet to do so.
Here, I share weekly actionable strategies and lessons from my experiences as a healthcare leader, entrepreneur, and angel investor.
Reading the Leadership Pulse newsletter every week will equip you with insights for creating lasting impact, whether navigating leadership challenges, building cohesive teams, or scaling a startup.
Please consider donating so that the newsletter can remain free for everyone.
The Story of the Garden
Last week, I was walking past a small garden in my neighbourhood.
I saw an older gentleman crouched by the flowers, pruning, watering, and removing weeds.
He was neither rushing nor looking around.
He was tending with quiet focus.
He didn’t know I was watching, but I was learning.
Because that’s precisely what leadership often looks like.
It’s not glamorous.
It’s not viral.
It’s not loud.
It’s patient, unseen, repetitive work that looks unimpressive until everything starts to bloom.
You won’t always get instant results.
But leadership is rarely about speed.
It’s about stewardship.
Finally, a powerful CRM—made simple.
Attio is the AI-native CRM built to scale your company from seed stage to category leader. Powerful, flexible, and intuitive to use, Attio is the CRM for the next-generation of teams.
Sync your email and calendar, and Attio instantly builds your CRM—enriching every company, contact, and interaction with actionable insights in seconds.
With Attio, AI isn’t just a feature—it’s the foundation.
Instantly find and route leads with research agents
Get real-time AI insights during customer conversations
Build AI automations for your most complex workflows
Join fast growing teams like Flatfile, Replicate, Modal, and more.
Strategy Deep Dive: Gardening Principles for Leaders
Whether you lead a hospital unit, a startup, or a national campaign, you’re not just managing people.
You’re growing something that matters.
This is how gardening wisdom translates into transformative leadership:
1. Prepare the Soil (Culture)
Healthy teams grow in healthy environments.
If your workplace is dry, toxic, or neglected, don’t expect anything to flourish.
Ask: What do we need to remove, improve, or enrich to create a growth-ready culture?
2. Plant with Intention (Vision)
Great leaders don’t just “keep things running.”
They plant seeds; new ideas, talent, systems with purpose and patience.
Ask: What seeds am I planting this season that may not bear fruit yet, but will matter later?
3. Water Daily (Consistency)
Your people need nourishment not once a season, but often.
They need feedback, recognition, clarity and support.
Ask: What small action can I take each week to water the people I lead?
4. Weed Ruthlessly (Eliminate What's Harmful)
Not everything that grows is good.
Outdated policies, energy-draining habits, and unspoken resentment must go.
Ask: What am I tolerating that’s choking the health of the system?
5. Wait Patiently (Timing Matters)
Not every effort gives an immediate return.
But underneath the surface, things are taking root.
Ask: Am I willing to trust the process and lead with long-term vision?
Join my newsletters:
Leadership Pulse:
Rise & Conquer
Get my free guide –
Feel free to share this newsletter with a colleague or peer who could benefit from these insights.
Subscribe to Rise & Conquer, our daily newsletter on Linkedin.
Each morning at 5:00 AM, I share powerful lessons on mindset, leadership, and high performance.
Ikechukwu's Journal
When I launched Leadership Pulse, I wasn’t trying to grow an audience.
I was planting a discipline, a habit of showing up, writing, and sharing.
Now, 103 weeks later, the growth is visible.
But the work was invisible for a long time.
That’s how leadership works, too.
You don’t force growth.
You foster it.
What to do this week:
Look at your team and ask: What am I cultivating here?
Identify one “weed” to remove, one “seed” to plant, and one way to “water” this week
Share this edition with a leader who’s doing the quiet work and needs encouragement.
If this resonated with you, tag someone whose steady leadership has shaped you.
And don't forget, tomorrow, a new Episode of Fireplace Conversations will be live at 8 AM.
Subscribe to the Podcast here:
I offer the following services:
Executive Coaching for Healthcare Leaders:
Tailored strategies for effective leadership in uncertain times.
Healthcare Consulting Services:
Insights to enhance operational efficiency, compliance, and patient care.
Advisory for Healthcare Startups:
Support with scaling, investor pitching, and regulatory navigation.
“Subscribe to the Leadership It's Newsletter. “It is amazing. “Tolu Ekwe.
Please stay connected with me:
Ikechukwu Okoh
Founder of Leadership Pulse
Reply