I know it might seem ridiculous to compare the two. However, I think there is more to this than not…. This idea came to me when I initially thought about the comparison. Originally I used the statement: “Leadership is like winemaking…. ~ the grapes don’t listen either!” Ha-Ha, I thought, then I paused a minute to realize there really are direct comparisons. Successful leadership and winemaking should both based on “influence” not control. As a matter of fact, it is the influence of both what you do and what you don’t do that affect success in each. And, while my original statement that “grapes don’t listen either,” is certainly true, they do accept the attention they get or not, just as employees do. Thus, again, both leadership and winemaking are about “growth.”
How we grow our organizations is not just about profit either, any more than winemaking is only about how many bottles we produce. In both cases growth is about the quality of the outcome within each of the processes. Quality of human growth and development and quality of farming in supporting grape growth. Maybe you can start to see why I think there is a direct comparison.
Organizations are not a lot more than a group of people working together, whether a trucking company, a school, insurance company or factory. Hopefully all involved have a shared belief in company direction and outcome. When all are in alignment, things work. Thus, company culture (how we do things here) and climate (how it feels here) are critical to the successful human growth and development within. When company culture and climate are positive for organizational members/employees, the company is likely to be quite successful. And, of course the real key to continued success is how well the organization handles change - either transactional or transformational (these topics will show up in the newsletter later!).
We humans really like to have our patterns and behaviors stay the same - and why most of us roughly live the same life day in, day out. The fact, however, is life never allows things to stay the same. For example, today we are faced with more forced change than ever - COVID-19, cultural and racial protests, politics, climate issues. And we each have a personal opinion about the changes being pressed upon us. The fact is, change is as inevitable as the limit of time on our lives, like it or not. It is for this reason that I found my first true professional calling - working with people in organizations to support change. I’ve done both consulting from outside and I have taken leadership roles within organizations. It’s always been all about growth!
Alright now you ask, where did the winemaking come in? As my life progressed I found myself wanting to find a business I could operate after my professional career. What I found, and bought, was a wine bar! I got a chance to taste thousands of wines - what a horrible part of the business! While I was tasting and buying wine I found my focus in the wine bar would be with the small, boutique, winemakers. These winemakers, male and female, were doing amazing things with blending varietals, farming methods, and fermenting techniques to make some amazing wines. Their talent was obvious. It was one of these small boutique winemakers that ultimately became a close friend and my winemaking mentor as I helped him harvest, make, blend, and bottle his wines. It was our conversations in the winery that started me thinking about the comparisons between leadership and winemaking. Farming is all about change, one day, one week, one month, one year to the next. To truly become successful and make a consistent wine, vintage (year) to vintage, the winemaker must change his/her processes to meet the farming needs of the grapes, at the time. The same is also true in leadership
In my opinion, it is in using a light but meaningful touch in leadership that makes the biggest difference in how organizations change to meet their current situations- how we treat people with respect rather than control. It is the same my friend pointed out in winemaking - let the grapes tell you what they need, use a soft touch. I know, and he also supported, this winemaking belief is not for everyone. But what I have learned after a decade or working with him, his wines are incredible. His “light touch” is incredibly successful.
