A friend recently took a trip to the western part of the US to visit a few national parks. One of the stops he and his family made was at the Sequoia National Park. The picture above is one he took of a great sequoia tree. This is the McKinley Tree name after President William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States. The tree is the 28th largest tree in the Giant Forest, and this Redwood tree measures 240 feet tall with a width of 18 feet. Wow, that is a magnificent tree. But it’s not by itself, as The General Sherman Tree, the world’s largest tree at 275 feet tall and 36 feet wide, is nearby.
Looking at these giant trees makes you wonder why they don’t topple over when wind and storms come. Is it because their roots go so deep? That seems plausible, but that is far from the truth. In fact, these trees have shallow root systems that extend over one hundred feet from the base, intertwining with the roots of other redwoods. This increases their stability during strong winds and floods. They grow together in groves, and they find strength in one another.
The trees illustrate the main point of this blog. We need each other, and we need to practice interdependence.
Interdependence s defined as the dependence of two or more people or things on each other. Dr. Stephen Covey states that “Human life is interdependent! We can combine our talents and abilities and create something greater together. Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve their greatest success.”
As children, we begin life dependent upon others, but quickly we transition to seeking independence, but we can’t stop here. To reach our full potential, we must intentionally move toward interdependence. Interdependence is a paradigm of WE, not I. It’s about multiple people being mutually dependent on one another. Thus, it goes beyond the realm of the individual and speaks to the dynamics of team, organization, and community. This is the world we live in. It is about individuals working together collaboratively to create community. You could say that our ultimate survival is largely dependent on our ability to be interdependent. Remember: We can grow to new heights, like sequoia trees, when we work together. We need one other.
Doing Good at Work encourages, equips, and empowers individuals, businesses, organizations, and non-profit leaders to practice interdependence. We offer team-building training and collaborative tools to help you work together. Learn more by scheduling a simple “People Strategy” conversation. Click HERE to get started. Being interdependent is a choice.
Working Together,
Boomer
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Dr. Boomer Brown, Ph.D., is the CEO of Doing Good at Work. Doing Good at Work is a 501(c) 3 organization that functions like a business. We desire to “Make People Better” because we know better people make better businesses, and better businesses make a better world. Learn more: https://doinggoodatwork.com/