Is It Time To Prune?

One of the character traits of successful leaders is that they understand the value of pruning.

When you hear the word “prune,” you may be thinking of a gardening skill that involves trimming and cutting of plants. Essentially, you’re cutting the “dead wood.”

It may not be the first thing you think of when you picture strong leadership, but it’s a crucial skill in that area.

For those that get the idea of pruning, many of them mistakenly believe it’s about more obvious things like getting rid of equipment they don’t need anymore or cutting expenses.

Those things are important but what often gets missed are the deeper things that need to get pruned.

Here are some examples:

• A team member that just isn’t a good fit
• A client that just isn’t a good fit
• A program/project that you put a lot of time and energy into
• Emotional baggage or limitations

The ability to prune is a skill and takes practice.

Many people never learned what it takes to be good at being done with things. For that reason, they get stuck and perceive that there’s no way out.

I’ll leave you with 2 final questions that must be answered for you to move forward:

What needs to be pruned in your business and life?

What feelings does it bring to think about taking action (fear, excitement, both, etc.)?