Nothing grows under a banyan tree. That South Indian proverb relates to leadership styles. The banyan is a huge tree that spreads its branches, drops air-roots and develops secondary trunks. Full grown, a banyan tree can cover more than an acre of land. Now, while birds, animals, and humans find shelter under its shade, nothing grows under its dense foliage, and when the banyan dies, the ground beneath lies barren and scorched.
Some leaders are like banyan trees.
They wield great influence and accomplish great things. But in accomplishing their mission, they fail to cultivate the next generation of leaders who serve under them. They know how to breed followers, but don't know how to empower leaders. Great leaders, instead of growing into mighty banyans, are more like banana trees. Six months after a banana tree sprouts, small shoots appear all around it.