Jill Geisler: How to be an organized leader —and avoid wasting your team’s time

Highly regarded leaders are often described in near-heroic terms: visionary, courageous, brilliant, charismatic.

Let me add one attribute that’s far less sexy but nonetheless important: organized.

Leaders who have a handle on their priorities, their schedule and their plans make life easier for those around them. They require less administrative maintenance and staff accommodation. They cause less frustration, anxiety, last-minute work and expense.

If you’ve worked for a disorganized supervisor — even one who had many other good qualities — you know the challenges: Meetings are called or canceled on short notice. Questions wait too long for answers. Work is delayed or duplicated. Revisions pop up far too close to deadline. Employees work overtime because of the boss’s haphazard habits.

Less-than-organized leaders aren’t necessarily satisfied with that status, either. One of the top concerns I hear from managers in my classes is a desire to get a better handle on their time and responsibilities. They want to get it right. But between their personal approach to organization and the demands of their jobs, structuring their work habits can be a heavy lift.

10 tips for getting organized

Here are some practical tips to lighten that load and to keep you from wasting others’ time, too.

1 Know yourself; manage yourself. Some of us are born planners, but others thrive on keeping options open. You may boast that you do your best work on deadline and thrive in chaos. You might even keep a little sign in your office that says, “A messy desk is a sign of genius.” But what works for you may be disrupting others. Don’t be like the bosses who assume they’ve earned the right to have others adapt to their style. Instead, embrace the idea that decluttering your world and tidying up your flaws will make things better for everyone. Let that be your mantra.

2 Look upstream and downstream. Have a clear sense of the needs and interests of those around you. The higher we get in the company, the more likely it is for us to lose touch with those on the front lines. How do your work habits affect the team’s workflow, efficiency and morale? Ask colleagues who you know will be candid with you how your approach to organization works for them.

3 Learn to love your calendar(s): You have many calendar options, from analog to digital. You can get alerts and reminders for the next appointment or the next day that warn you when you have double-booked yourself. You can use apps that let people schedule time with you. You can automate your day planning using AI. Shifting your scheduling habits can be scary at first. Get advice from other leaders. Test-drive some options.

4 Have a system to capture “on-the-fly” inquiries. This can be as simple as a paper notebook or a phone app, but it’s the landing spot for all the questions and requests that come your way when you are out and about. A quick “note to self” can speed up answering or setting up meetings. Your system will help keep things from falling through the cracks.

5 Create a “close-the-loop” culture. Spotty responsiveness is a trustbuster. At best, it suggests disorganization (“I’ve lost track of you”), and at worst, it telegraphs disrespect (“I don’t care about you”). When you and your team commit to “closing the loop” on open issues expeditiously, you build efficiency and trust. “Loop closers” commit to getting responses as quickly as possible, including an ETA if a reply requires time. They give each other permission to nudge (“Just a friendly reminder about sending those updated numbers”) when a response is delayed. A caveat: Nudging isn’t a replacement for timely answers; it’s a tool to be used for rare exceptions.

6 Review your meeting schedules. Are your meetings a matter of habit — or design? Can you easily describe the purpose for each? Do they end with clearly understood actions for everyone, you included? Which meetings do you need to attend and why? How often do you miss meetings, and what happens when you do? One of the most common complaints I hear about managers is how often they fail to attend important meetings — including those they’ve scheduled!

7 Download, download, download. Managers often dash from meeting to meeting, some in person, some virtual. There’s often little time between gatherings to fully process what transpired. A major enemy of organization is failure to download those key ideas and tasks. Get in the habit of downloading meeting notes or having an AI app do it for you. Check with your IT experts (or any teenagers you know) for suggestions.

8 Define or refine your open-door policy. If you are a person who wants to be accessible and enjoys engaging with people, you may welcome drop-in visitors. But are those random meetings derailing any necessary work? If so, you have options, from establishing office hours to learning how to turn down visits in a friendly way (“I’d love to talk when I can give you my full attention. How about … .”) and proposing an alternative time to show you mean business.

9 Delegate authority, not just responsibility. If you’ve asked people to take on a project, be the boss who trusts them to make decisions. Be clear about the threshold at which you need to be involved. Without that clarity, you can slow things down by hopping in and out of work in progress. And if you need a briefing every time you show up from those who are knowledgeable about the project, is it any wonder they might perceive you as being disorganized?

10 Optimize the end of your day. I’m a big fan of ending the day with a look ahead to tomorrow. Even if you love serendipity, you will benefit from having a clear picture of the next day’s schedule. For the same reason, I suggest using the end of your work week to scope out the week ahead. You’ll have a better fix on your commitments and how to use whatever free time is on your calendar.

A stress reducer for leaders — and their staff

Speaking of free time, the more organized you are as a leader, the more you can enjoy your well-deserved time off. The team knows what to do, so you’re less likely to be interrupted with questions from the office. And you know what to expect on your return.

Pro-tip: Ask any organized executive who’s taken maternity or paternity leave to tell you how they planned for and benefitted from plotting out logistics in advance. Sometimes mom and dad really do know best. Now, about that messy desk of yours …