We have a beautiful flowering tree in our backyard. It always reminded me of a (large) carefully pruned bonsai. Planted near a corner in the fence, its branches swept gracefully to the south, to the sun.

Last year, the tree held onto its leaves late into the season. Then we had a heavy, wet snowfall. The snow piled onto the leaves. Its weight eventually tore the longest branches off.

I cleaned it up as best as I could. It needed further pruning to help its mangled trunk find a sense of aesthetic direction.

My poor, traumatized tree isn’t quite the same. It’ll take work and probably years to bring it back.

Not letting go can come with a cost

Decisions about ‘letting go’ are often the most difficult ones that I have with my clients. They often struggle with letting go of distracting, unproductive, or damaging cultural or professional practices, team members, goals and dreams, or investments of some kind.

Perhaps they were productive in the past. Perhaps they offered an attractive promise. However, they came to be – they now make it difficult to move ahead.

It may be time to let go.

Seven places where you may need to let go: 

Habits:  Sustained success is the sum of many consistent actions over time. These are habits. Many of us have habits that are unhelpful or no longer serve us well. These may be as simple as sleep routines or eating habits that prevent us from operating at our best. Or they may be destructive habits that could undermine our relationships, health, self-confidence, or credibility.

Is there a habit that you need to address?

Mindsets: Mindsets are default perspectives or lenses we use to interpret reality and shape our responses. Here are common ones:

• Abundance vs. Scarcity: Do we believe in creating opportunities and resources or fighting for a piece of the pie?
• Learning vs. Performance: Are we motivated towards personal growth or seeking validation from others?
• Growth vs. Fixed: Do we believe in personal development or are abilities set in stone?

There are many other mindsets. How you see life will impact how you approach it.

What one or two mindsets tend to influence how you approach leadership decisions? 

Is there one that you need to reevaluate or change? 

Products or Services: Evaluate how well your products or services perform. Some don’t. Sometimes we hang on to stinkers due to an emotional attachment. Or we fear that ‘if we cut that,’ we’ll go out of business.

Whatever you put into underperformers is what you aren’t putting into performance. Holding on often threatens your business more than letting go.

I recommend to my clients that every couple of years, they should let go of the bottom 15%-20%. They nearly always resist that concept. The ones who embrace it grow. The ones who don’t remain stuck.

The resources we put into the small return activities are resources we can’t put into gaining large returns.

Are there any products or services that you need to let go of? 

Commitments: Upholding commitments is the right thing to do. Many of my clients are people of principle. They want to keep their commitments. But sometimes principles are misdirected.

Some commitments are unhealthy, ineffective, or one-sided. Some leaders make commitments to misdirected principles, “I’ll never be like…” or “I’ll prove that…” Other leaders make unexpected, unreciprocated, and uncommunicated commitments to others.

Evaluate your commitments. Renegotiate bad ones (this is more often an option than you might expect). If you can’t, try to fulfill or bring them to a close quickly. Let go of unhelpful commitments or vows to yourself.

Are there any commitments you need to let go of? Are there any you need to renegotiate? 

Relationships: There is a reason that athletes want training partners. Some relationships help us. They encourage us and empower us.

But some relationships make things difficult. Misalignment in values, goals, or other factors creates limitations. Recognizing and distancing ourselves from unproductive relationships is essential for growth.

Are there any unhealthy or unproductive relationships that you need to let go of? 

Systems, policies, procedures: While I’m no fan of bureaucracy, I’m a big fan of clear, effective structures. When designed well, they increase understanding and consistency, reduce conflict, improve efficiency, and so on. They should create clarity around how organizational behavior aligns itself with its values in the pursuit of its vision.

But that doesn’t happen all on its own. Over time, some have unforeseen negative consequences. Others perhaps make sense in isolation but conflict with each other. Some had a purpose in a context that has now changed.

Are there any systems, policies, or procedures that aren’t providing value? Are there any that are destroying value? Does anything need to be clarified or changed?

Culture: I worked with one client who had a strong culture of respect and transparency in communication. They were able to navigate some extremely challenging times and come out stronger with their team and relationships intact as a result. It was normal for them to address issues when times were easy.

Another client avoided conflict and accountability. When they experienced challenging times, they didn’t have the basic social skills to develop solutions or address problems. They had never learned to trust each other in difficult conversations. They questioned the intent of others. As a result, change needlessly felt threatening was extremely difficult and costly.

Is there something about your culture that should be started, stopped, or changed in some way? 

Practical Steps for Letting Go:

Evaluate: Periodically assess habits, mindsets, commitments, relationships, products, policies, and culture.

Acknowledge: Recognize elements that are counterproductive or no longer beneficial.

Reflect: Develop a plan to gradually disengage or modify these aspects.

Act: Redirect efforts and resources into avenues that promise better growth and returns.

Take good care,

Christian

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