“When you get up every morning, there are people lined up around the block who want to tell what you to do.” These words of wisdom come from my dear friend and mentor, Art Haimerl.

Facing challenges requires bringing others alongside to provide insight, perspective, and support. Tapping the wisdom and insights of others brings a new level of understanding and potential solutions.

Challenges in leadership can come from many places. Recently, I had the opportunity to practice shifting my perspective, taking the balcony view, so that I could lead effectively in a challenging situation.

Overcoming challenges is a key role of a leader. You set the tone by acknowledging the problem, identifying solutions, and who is needed to fix the problem, as well as determining the best course of action.

Letting go can be a difficult step for a leader. This is your baby. You’ve worked long and hard to bring it to reality.

Remember the matching game you played as a child? Cards were placed face down and you had to find the matches. The one who had the most matches at the end of the game won.

Empowered employees have the freedom and ability to use their strengths in ways they choose to contribute to the team and reach team goals. They are motivated to make their best contributions through using their strengths.

Empowered teams collaborate, tapping their members’ varied strengths to obtain better results. Last month, we talked about moving from delegation to empowerment and the value in empowering your team. This month, we’re focusing more on the process of empowerment.

This week’s blog post is focused on the second of three types of pruning needed to reach your future vision, removing sick and diseased branches that are never going to make it.