Learn from Plants for Human Resource Development

Hello, this is Yoshizaki!
This is from the "Jito Update Gym" series, an online study group held on the third Tuesday of every month.
This time, I will introduce a portion of the content held on October 21, 2025.

If you are wondering, "What is the 'Jito Update Gym'?", please refer tothis past article.

Common Parenting Worries (Concrete Examples)

As a starting point for "Concrete ⇄ Abstract," I will first introduce some concrete examples.

As of 2025, I am in the middle of raising two children, a fourth grader and a first grader in elementary school, and well, the worries never end.
Even if one is resolved, worries keep popping up one after another. (Of course, there is just as much joy and fun, too.)
One category of those worries is "comparing them to others."

• My older child was already talking at this age, but...

• Child A plays happily with everyone, but my child only plays with books (or games)...

• The neighbor's child has already memorized all the multiplication tables, but...

• Even though they are in the same grade, Child B is good at sports and active...

What do you think?
Comparing them to siblings, comparing them to friends, comparing them to children of the same age... Perhaps some of you might find all of these relatable.
Me too, lol.

From here on, I will borrow some insights fromthe words of educator Mr. Katsunori Ishida, whom I respect.

Mr. Ishida says that this worry of "comparing to others" is a problem of an education system that treats homogeneity as the standard.
In other words, parents and teachers "correct" children to fit into"standards" or "should-be" theoriessuch as "you should get into a good school," "you should get high scores on tests," or "you should get along with everyone," which are based on standard values, deviation scores, and the school education system.

Thinking by Comparing to Flowers (A Shift in Perspective)

What happens if we compare this to flowers?

"Continuing to expect a sunflower from a dandelion, and being disappointed when it doesn't bloom."

Neither the dandelion nor the sunflower is superior; each has its own unique value and beauty. Comparing them in the first place is futile.
Yet, wearbitrarily apply a "standard" that "big flowers are better"and keep watering the dandelion or giving it light so that a sunflower will bloom, and then feel disappointed when it doesn't.

So, "what should we do?" Mr. Ishida says the following:

By the way, as a supplement, "talent" here refers tothe area where you don't consider effort to be effort. In other words,it's not about "what you are suited for," but "what you can continue doing." Since there is always a "particularity" behind the reasons you can continue,the point is to focus on that.

Learn from plants for talent development (abstraction)

When I heard this story, I imagined it like the diagram below.

I had heard similar stories in training sessions and books in the past and was very convinced by them, so the image remained strong in my mind.

First, we think of plants by dividing them into “elements for growth” and “constituent elements.” Elements for growth include
light, air, water, soil, temperature, etc. Constituent elements are broadly classified into three:
roots, stems/trunks, and flowers/branches and leaves.

When applying this to people,
there are various elements for growth, such as diet, learning environment, words, affection, ambition, and mentors, but I will omit them here.

What I want to focus on this time is the constituent elements.
Let's consider roots as talent, experience, inquisitive mind, self-affirmation, and basic intelligence, stems and trunks as
strengths, merits, and confidence, and flowers, branches, and leaves as
skills, knowledge, and qualifications.

If we further divide this into below the soil (roots) and above the soil (stems/trunks, flowers/branches/leaves), below the soil can be classified as internal career (parts that cannot be written on a resume) and external career (parts that can be written on a resume).

Next, let's superimpose plant growth with human growth.

For a plant to grow large, bloom big flowers, or grow magnificent branches and leaves, it needs to spread its roots wide and deep, right?

People are the same.
To acquire skills, knowledge, and qualifications, you need not only talent but also various experiences, an inquisitive mind to learn, and basic intelligence such as fundamental academic ability and thinking power.
If we compare it to a PC or smartphone, the roots are the OS, and the flowers and leaves are the apps.
It is the same principle as how you cannot install the latest apps on an old OS, so you need to update the OS.

Considering it through Yoshizaki's career (application)

So, I considered what would happen if I applied this abstracted essence of “learning from plants for talent development” to my career so far.

I think the first 10 years after becoming a working adult were the period of soil preparation.
It was a time when I learned the “ABC's” of being a working adult and a city employee.
In particular, I think it was good that things were accumulated within me without me knowing it, such as being involved in formulating the long-term plan, which is the city's highest-level plan, in the Planning and Coordination Division, and listening to policy debates by seniors like department directors and section chiefs almost every day.

The trigger for the shift change, which could be called sowing seeds, was the Human Resource Management Subcommittee.
I will omit the details, but the dialogue with fellow public servants gathered from all over the country was truly stimulating.
Until then, I had assumed that “public servants should be unsung heroes and stick to being behind the scenes,” so I still remember the shock of seeing so many public servants who proudly express their own opinions.

The period corresponding to germination, where I clearly recognized my strengths, was my two-year dispatch to a credit union.
Here, there were so many opportunities to do presentations, MC work, and facilitation, but originally I only recognized that “I am good at speaking in front of people and I like it,” and I didn't think it was my strength lol.
However, through this two-year dispatch, I feel like I broke out of my shell by clearly recognizing that “this strength is my weapon!”

Once I could recognize my strengths, I moved on to the next stage of how to utilize them and what to do using that weapon.
I feel that this eventually led to spreading roots and growing stems and trunks.
At this time, I think that doing the launch of the hometown tax payment alone and pro bono activities triggered the full-scale start of activities outside of work, which had a major impact on my career.It was the period when I started to seriously become aware of a parallel career.

And as for the present, since becoming a section chief, the scope of my discretion has expanded, so I think both the breadth of my work and my personal connections have increased.Lectures outside the office, such as at universities, and working as a training instructor are also things I am happy to see increasing. At the same time, activities outside of work have also steadily expanded, such as
being a personality on the online city hall's internal broadcast “Omoi wo Katachi ni Kenkyujo” (Thoughts into Shape Laboratory), being an instructor in public servant communities, and contributing to professional magazines for public servants.

However, as the principle of “you can see from top to bottom, but you cannot see from bottom to top” goes, I can understand the past, such as “that was sowing seeds” or “this was germination,” but I cannot judge the present yet, so when I said, “I don't know if I am at the bud stage or if I am blooming,” the participants said,

“No, no, Yoshizaki-san, you are already in full bloom lol.”

They said lol lol lol.
Is that so!? But if multiple people say so, it must be true lol.
So, I will change my perception, and from now on, I would like to aim to become a big tree rather than just blooming flowers.

Opinions from the participants

With that said, we spent about 10 minutes exchanging opinions with the participants afterward.
We received various opinions, including their impressions.

My own summary

This time, I provided a topic under the theme of "Learn from Plants for Talent Development," and I felt once again that it is a concept that applies broadly to my own career, child-rearing, and talent development, in any context of nurturing people.

Actually, in the past, I had written a similar article looking back on my own career.

This time, I feel I have understood it more deeply than before, and based on this, I also gave a talk to students at Chuo University who aspire to become civil servants.
The article from that time will likely be published in another form, so please look forward to it.

As for the harvest from this time, it was significant that I was able to recognize that I am already in a state where my flowers have bloomed.
This is because I was able to reset my goal to "aim to become a great tree from now on."
If you would like, please try looking back on your own career as well.
You might make some unexpected discoveries.

That concludes the case study introduction from the Jizama (Self-Head) Update Gym.
Next time, I will introduce "What are the common points between the SECI model and Shu-Ha-Ri?" held on November 18th.
Thank you!