Be like the Sequoia

As I mentioned in a recent post, my wife and I recently took a trip for our wedding anniversary.  Our typical vacations usually involve a lot of sitting on a beach and relaxing with a good book or two, but this time we checked out some great places to visit in Northern California.  One of the most impressive things we saw were the Sequoia trees in both Yosemite National Park and Muir Woods.  The term Sequoia actually refers to a genus of trees which includes both the Giant Sequoia (which I think is what we saw in Yosemite) and the Coast Redwood (which I think is what we saw in Muir Woods).  Regardless, these trees are massively beautiful and awe-inspiring!

The sequoia trees (here referring to both species) are massive - they grow to an average height of between 150-300 feet and trunk diameters approaching 25 feet.  The famous General Sherman tree living in Sequoia National Park is the largest currently living tree at 275 feet in height and 25 feet in diameter (at height - it's close to 37 feet in diameter at the base).  During our trip, we learned two fascinating things.  First, despite the fact that the sequoia trees are massive, the seed cones are surprisingly small relative to the size of other seed cones (see the photo below - the sequoia seed cones are on the right):

So, out of something very small comes something incredibly big!  Here we have a powerful metaphor for what has been said so many times in the past.  T.E. Lawrence famously said (at least he said it in the 1962 movie, Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O'Toole in the title role), "Big things have small beginnings" (at the time referring to the impact of a small army of Bedouins in the war against the Turks).  The ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius said, "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."  The ancient Greek statesman and orator, Demosthenes, said "Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises."  The American writer, Mark Twain, said, "The secret of getting ahead is getting started.  The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one."

All of these quotes - and the story of the Giant Sequoia that begins with the tiniest of seed cones - are a powerful metaphor for leadership.  Even the biggest problems that seem like they will be impossible to solve can be broken down into smaller (and presumably easier to solve) steps.  Just as relevant, one person can have a tremendous impact.  As leaders, we have the opportunity and the privilege to help others and make that impact.

The second thing that we learned about the sequoia is that despite the height and girth of these trees, their root systems are surprisingly quite shallow.  As a matter of fact, they are so shallow that Muir Woods built an elevated wooden path around its redwood grove and the Yosemite park rangers ask that visitors not walk off the trial, so that these fragile root systems are not disturbed.  Apparently the roots only go about 6 to 20 feet deep into the ground before spreading out over an area of 200 to 300 feet.

Even more impressive is that these trees are so tall, and despite the shallow root system, they rarely fall over (e.g. with heavy winds).  Apparently, these trees share their root systems with one another!  As John Maxwell said, "Beneath the surface of these humongous, tall, statuesque trees are roots like a army of men who have their arms interlocked, standing and supporting each other. They are preventing the adversaries of life from knocking each other down. They are also making sure there is plenty of nutrients for growth to continue."  What an amazing metaphor!  We are stronger together than we are alone.  As the old African proverb says, "If you want to go far, go together!"  

We had a great time in Northern California.  And we learned a lot about the Sequoia trees - and like many things in life, there were lessons there in leadership!