In my last article Four Ways To Rapidly Grow By Pruning Your Life I shared the value of cutting things out of our lives so that we can grow. I used the example of a tree in my office. It was looking sick, sparse and dead on one side. We made some changes in lighting, some changes with fertilizing; but it needed pruning. I pruned the tree and it came back thick, green and vibrant.

In general, you need to invest to grow. But, there are times when cutting something out is absolutely the right choice. In this article, I’ll apply this concept to teams and organizations.

Let’s look at four areas where organizational pruning is needed:

Staff

I’m starting with the toughest area first. I’m a believer that an employer has some obligation to an employee. When hiring someone, it’s my responsibility to make sure I screened the person well, fit them in a job where they can succeed and have given them the support they need. However, there are times when some employees need to be pruned.

Despite the cynicism in the media and movies, most employers actually tend to hang on to problem staff for too long. Aside from hurting the organization, “hanging on” can actually be abusive to other employees.

I believe employees should be pruned when they show a pattern of:

• Preventing others from doing or succeeding at their jobs.
• Contributing to turnover, driving others away from working collaboratively.
• Unwillingness or inability to be teachable or correctable.
• Unwillingness or inability to contribute to the overall mission of the team or organization.
• Undermining the work environment through gossip, bullying or other negative behavior.

With the exception of acute instances that relate to safety or criminal behavior, I generally support first ensuring that the employer has provided the necessary resources and guidance for the employee to succeed. Next, I support offering structured coaching providing expectations and a timeline for change. If these interventions do not help, the employee should be let go.

Lines of Service

Over time, most organizations develop products, services or programs that have either never proven their value, have outlived their value or haven’t demonstrated sufficient value.

Leaders should regularly review what they’re offering to customers and determine if they are receiving enough value. Back to the tree analogy: is this particular limb actually growing and producing fruit? Can changes be made to help it become more effective? Without growth or fruit, the “limb” should probably be cut.

Sometimes making these cuts involve “no-brainer” conversations. Other times, we risk touching “pet projects” or someone’s “sacred cow”. It helps to create an objective set of criteria, in advance, that define value. For example:

• Measurable indicators: an increase in profits, number of new members, etc.
• Measurable costs: leadership and management time, number of employees, overhead, etc.

This is usually easier for businesses. Non-profits, faith-based organizations, and government agencies can really struggle with this because the “payer” for the service is often not the “customer.” So, there’s a “disconnect” regarding value.

All programs or services should expect to accomplish certain results. If they’re not accomplishing those results, it’s worth taking time and effort to determine if changes will help. If change doesn’t help, it’s more likely these efforts are just using up resources the rest of the organization could divert to better use.

Remember, by saying, “Yes” to one line of service, you are saying, “No” to another. We need to stop saying, “Yes” to things that do not work.

Unhelpful Systems, Policies, and Procedures

Sometimes we continue attending a meeting because we’ve “always had that Tuesday meeting”. Sometimes we make customers complete forms in triplicate because we’ve “always done triplicate”.

It’s worth setting up a process for continual growth and improvement. This could be a regular review process. Or, it could be as simple as a suggestion box or forum for employees to make observations about systems, policies or procedures that no longer seem to serve a purpose; or, make it more difficult to accomplish a purpose.

Some policies or procedures were very appropriate, at one time. But they no longer serve well as the organization or environment has changed. Verify that your systems, policies, and procedures serve the purpose of the organization; rather than the organization serving them.

Unhealthy Culture

I’ve worked in warehouses where employees covered warehouse walls with centerfolds. When I was a teacher, I avoided the teachers’ lounge because it felt negative and gossipy. I worked at a non-profit where it was acceptable for employees to be bullied and harassed by customers.

Culture has a dominating effect on workplace effectiveness and productivity. It’s a leader’s obligation to be aware of the culture (and subcultures) within the organization. While leaders made excuses in all the above examples, each scenario detracted from workplace performance and morale. Human Resource laws aside, they created “in groups” and “out groups”. Some people would feel comfortable, or safe, and others would not. Creativity and problem solving were inhibited. Taking the law into account, two of these organizations were at significant risk of litigation.

None of the cultures described above contributed towards greater returns on the work performed. Make sure that your culture does. And work to prune what does not.