Education leaders, here’s the hard truth: Grass doesn’t grow faster when you pull it.
Oct 07, 2025Education leaders, here’s the hard truth:
Grass doesn’t grow faster when you pull it.
We pull with mandatory trainings: another afternoon spent listening to an external expert telling you how to do your job, while a mountain of grading waits at home.
We pull with endless policies: pages of protocols no one reads, but you’re held accountable for every line.
We pull with pressure to deliver fast results: a dashboard that turns your classroom into red and green boxes, as if students were spreadsheet cells.
The outcome?
→ Exhausted teachers — dragging themselves through the week, wondering if they’re failing their students.
→ Surface-level change — new posters on the wall, new forms to fill in, but nothing truly shifts in the classroom.
→ Stunted growth — children learning to tick boxes instead of daring to think for themselves.
Let’s be honest:
The problem isn’t the teachers.
The problem isn’t the students.
The problem is the environment.
A system designed for compliance, not for growth.
A system where motivation dies in the name of management.
Real growth in people, just like in nature, comes from the right circumstances.
👉 Rich soil: psychological safety and trust.
👉 Sunlight: recognition, encouragement, and shared purpose.
👉 Water: time, patience, and consistent support.
Our job as leaders?
Not to yank on the blades of grass.
But to create the conditions where growth becomes inevitable.
💥 So here’s the manifesto:
Stop pulling.
Start cultivating.
Because when you nurture the right environment, people don’t just grow.
They flourish.
✨ What’s one habit you could stop pulling on — so your team has space to thrive?
