To Find Your Cultivators, You Have to Be One

I used to be really passionate about Emerging Markets, and it was my dream job to get a position for which I could focus on that. I spent a year meeting with anyone who was doing anything related to Emerging Markets. Inevitably, I met a few Cultivators.

They invited me to participate in some projects on a volunteer basis. One of them was based in Switzerland. I’ll never forget how excited I was waking up at 3:30 AM Eastern in Somerville, New Jersey to participate in a virtual whiteboarding session and brainstorm ideas. 

You can’t fake that kind of passion. That’s the kind of connection Cultivators form.

One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is,

“Steve, how do I know if my organization has people like this? And how do I find them?”

I struggle with this question in some respects because I’ll find myself thinking, “Have you ever looked?” On the other hand, I know that it can be challenging; it can feel lonely working in a big company and feeling like everyone else is fine with keeping things the way they are. 

While many people grumble that their calendars are full or they're going to another pointless meeting, Cultivators do something about it by taking control of the meeting, running it another way, or canceling it altogether.

While many people grumble over an overflowing inbox or redundant emails, Cultivators set up inbox controls, share their communication style with others, and own their workday, so it isn't dictated by email madness.

While many people grumble about the lack of creative solutions to a problem, Cultivators facilitate a brainstorming process and bring new insights to the table to come up with the best ideas.

These are Cultivators: the people who take action to change something instead of just complaining about it.

You may have already developed a network of Cultivators around you, but haven’t thought of them that way yet. Challenge yourself to think about a time you attended a well-run workshop: who led it? When you saw that cool presentation in a town hall: whose project was it? Maybe you were invited to some kind of off-the-wall “Tech Tuesday” lunch and learn: who put it together? These are Cultivators.

They probably don’t have a fancy title. They’re on-the-ground people who show up every day trying to help the organization improve.

If you want to find more of them, you have to show up that way yourself. Only then will you see more of them come out of the woodwork. Here, six ways you can kick off your pursuit for Cultivators:

1. Organize an event around a shared interest or shared challenge that some of your colleagues may have. Advertise it on Yammer, in Slack or send out an email to a few folks. See who shows up.

2. Create a new project focused on advancing an idea you want to make happen. Reach out to people who you think could help.

3. If you want to be even more formal, create an application process for your project and see who applies.

4. Implement a nomination process and encourage managers to nominate people to be part of the work.

5. Ask around beyond the usual suspects – get curious about jobs and teams you might usually write off or disregard.

6. When you meet with and identify someone as a Cultivator, ask them who you should meet next. 

If you want to find them, it’s pretty simple: be one yourself.