Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lisa Roark. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lisa, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I loved my career in the beauty industry; making people feel even more beautiful filled my cup daily. One year, I was applying for a promotion. The regional manager asked me where I saw myself in 5 years. That’s always been a difficult question for me, as my life has always been full of movement, and I’d never felt comfortable making a long-term plan. I surprised myself and her after answering, “I’d like to be working in the lab.”
That answer was honest and caused me to consider what my passion about the industry really was. The products themselves were fun and pretty, customer service was fulfilling, and my friendships with co-workers were satisfying. But what was it that I liked about the industry, really? It was the newness and excitement around product launches and a new ingredient that was going to reduce inflammation/brighten/tone/
The stories we learned about how the ingredient was discovered, the cultures using the ingredient for centuries before, the growing environment, and the harvest all fascinated me. Those were the stories I told when I was excitedly applying the products to my clients’ skin, selling them on the uniqueness of the ingredient rather than the direct benefits of the product. Many of my clients commented on my passion for the ingredients, and I began wondering if I could grow the plant in my backyard and create healing teas or potions at home.
While still working full time, I enrolled in a course for Permaculture, learning how to do just that! Working the soil gave me a new purpose as I connected with nature. I realized that while I loved everything about and everyone in the industry, I needed to be outside and working with plants. I bid a bittersweet farewell to the only career I’d ever known and embarked on my new journey as an urban farmer.
I enjoyed speaking at Farmer’s Markets and events about living in a less-waste manner, feeding yourself from your garden, composting, and nutrition, but something was lacking. It was time for more education. I enrolled in Culinary school to add to my knowledge base, and learned how to incorporate my homegrown plants into nourishing meals for me and my loved ones. That training has led to cooking classes at the Dallas Arboretum, private classes, speaking engagements, and work with Turn as Program Director.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I love teaching classes at my home or at Dallas College through my original company, Love + Plant + Nourish. Please feel free to check out my very neglected blog at loveplantnourish.com.
I am on the board of Slow Food DFW, the Texas Committee Chair of International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW), and an active member of Citizen’s Climate Lobby, American Culinary Federation, and the US Composting Council. My volunteer work is fully aligned with my passions: environmentalism and food!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My thirst for knowledge has become a helpful quality in my journey. Learning the product packaging and benefits were one thing; diving deep into the ingredient growing and harvesting led me to realize there was more to what I was doing than I even thought possible. Choosing to go to school to cultivate my knowledge and the opportunities I’ve had to utilize this education has been nothing short of a blessing. I’ve been in management for well over 20 years, and learning how to manage time properly has been paramount to this change in my career, and the success of it.
My advice is to demonstrate work ethic in everything you do. Restarting at almost 40 meant I was doing dishes in school with people in their early 20’s, and before being promoted at Turn, I was cleaning compost buckets and shoveling compost in the Texas heat. You aren’t above any task, and if the task wasn’t important, it wouldn’t have to be done at all. Show up on time, don’t call out sick unless you truly are (and certainly not within the first 90 days!), and ask how you can be of service. You will be trusted by big things when you prove yourself with small ones.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Being a well-rounded person is crucial to growth. Sometimes when we rely on our strengths and only devote energy towards them, we become egotistical in our roles. That causes us to lose grace with co-workers, and to not be the nicest person on the team. Instead, take a personal assessment of areas you know you’re more challenged, and seek a mentor who will help develop those areas into strengths.
In hindsight, I was promoted into management too early. My first supervisory role was at 19, when I had no emotional intelligence or skills to manage people. That’s a dangerous thing for a company to do, as it causes turnover and costs the company money from hiring and training.
Throughout my twenties, I realized I was a terrible delegator. Being promoted so young gave me a sense that I was better than others, which was not at all the case! (It turns out, I was just more available, scheduling-wise. Another lesson learned!) When my assistant manager gently asked why she was even there, it hit me: I was hogging all of the responsibilities and not developing my team. What a waste of capable humans! It didn’t come easily or naturally, but I sought a mentor within my company who was a great delegator. After growing pains and a lot of patience on behalf of my team, I was able to hone that skill and understand that delegation isn’t abandonment; I’m still responsible for the end result, but by allowing the team to participate, I’m growing their careers as well as mine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ikeandelisorganicfarm.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisa.cooks.plants/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisacooksplants
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-roark-b2252b31/
