I don’t know about you, but pruning trees in the spring and the fall can be a daunting task. Since I don’t do this on a regular basis, I find myself watching YouTube videos to remind me what branches should be cut off and which should be kept. I have a tendency to be a bit too aggressive, so sometimes I need to step back, review my work and begin again.
This fall as I pruned trees in my yard I started to think about how pruning is not just important for trees, but also in our personal and professional lives. How is that? Let me know show you!
1. Pruning starts with a vision.
If you ask any Orchardist (owner/manager of an orchard) or viticulturists (manager of vineyard) they will tell you that when you manage an orchard or vineyard you must start with a vision. If you are a world class viticulturist or winemaker your goal is the have the very best of grapes to make the finest of wine. Your pruning decisions are based on that vision.
Application:
What is the vision you have for your life? Have you talked about it with others or written down your goals? What are your visions for the team that you manage at work? Have you shared this vision?
2. You cannot be afraid to cut out that which does not belong.
This is an important step. When you start cutting down branches and any new growth of the tree/vine, you may find yourself upset that you are wasting perfectly good parts of the tree. While it is true that you are cutting viable parts of the tree, you must realize that cutting away these branches will allow the tree to focus on building deeper roots to make it stronger.
Application:
Are there things in your life that are keeping you from your vision? Are you overbooked and overstressed? Have you overscheduled your life? Do you find yourself spending time on things that really do not help you reach your goals? How are you building deeper roots at home and work? Do you have team members at work that do not have the same vision and may need to be moved elsewhere?
3. Be willing to prune away the good in order to grow the best.
Viticulturists often use the phrase, “Growth follows the knife.” What they mean is that the vine becomes more mature and stronger as the vine is pruned. They are often willing to prune perfectly GOOD grapes so that the vine produces the very BEST grapes.
Application:
This one is easy to talk about, but hard to apply. There are so many good things in our lives that we want to spend time doing, however we must be willing to focus on those things which enrich our lives, make us better people, and keep us heading towards our goals. At work, focus on high quality meetings and short, but clear messages rather than long meetings without focus and unclear messages.
4. Prune the sick and the diseased.
You must remove the part that is dead; if this is not performed, the nutrients and resources will not nourish the plant to sustain life. If there is disease, you need to remove it before it spreads and infects other parts of the plant or it may ultimately die.
Application:
This one is easy to recognize, but hard to address. We all have habits and addictions that we know that we need to resolve, however we often find it very challenging to overcome these struggles. This is when we need to seek help from those around us and lean on our support systems rather than try to fix it ourselves. If we do not prune these things away, they will become worse and may ultimately destroy us. At work you need to find help for those struggling with burnout, feelings of inadequacy, heavy workloads and unrealistic personal expectations. This may involve coaching/counseling rather than termination, although sometimes termination may be necessary.
5. Focus on the long-term vision rather than the short-term gains.
It is easy to lose focus, especially when you are removing perfectly good looking parts of a tree or vine. A viticulturist is willing to wait for the best grapes to produce their wine instead of settling on mediocre grapes that will produce a subpar product. They are focused on their goal of making world class wine.
Application:
I get it. Life is rough sometimes. We all have those moments when we want to simply throw in the towel. These are the times in which we need to remind ourselves about our vision and goals. We need to talk to others about our struggles while still being unwavering in our vision. What are you visions at work? Do you share them often? How do you stay focused on these goals? Are you remembering to look at the big picture rather than focusing on the day-to-day struggles?
