A few weekends ago, I spent time coaching a friend on his leadership abilities. While I identified numerous strengths that have served him well in the past, he clearly needed direction in a few key areas. Most notably, and perhaps most surprisingly, was his need to be better organized.

While organization is by no means the cornerstone of great leadership capabilities, a lack of order can be detrimental to any leaders overall success. If you often misplace vital information, contact numbers, sales figures, etc., the result is a distinct and quantifiable disconnect between your desk and the flow of progress. How can you be taken seriously as a leader, or establish a reputation as a go-to individual, if you’re constantly fumbling through a sea of post-it notes, scattered papers, and fragmented computer files?

Not everyone is an organizational perfectionist, nor do they have to be. As long as you can quickly find what you’re looking for, are in touch with your personal and business schedule, and have a presentable and professional workspace, you’re probably as organized as you need to be. But for those, like the friend I was mentoring, who are chronically disorganized, the path to WOW leadership will remain blocked until you put a few things in order.

Here are six easy organizational strategies to get you started:

1. Clean the slate. The task may seem overwhelming, but it has to be done. The first step to an organized life is starting fresh with a clean, orderly workspace. Straighten up your desk, your office, your computer, your briefcase anywhere that the chaos has taken over. Toss out or shred anything you don’t need, then find a place for what you do need.
2. Sort strategically. File and sort your paperwork in a way that makes sense and is easy to access. Keep all personal and business files separated by storing them in different filing cabinets or at the very least, segregating them via color-coding and placement within a single drawer. Better yet, go paperless and sort what you can electronically.
3. Learn to prioritize. Categorize your materials, contacts, and even your commitments, into areas or importance. By identifying your highest and lowest priorities you’ll be better able to organize your schedule and make decisions that keep you from getting overwhelmed.
4. Stop procrastinating. As soon as something new comes across your desk, lands in your email box, or queues from the printer, decide what to do with it, and do it immediately. File it for later, take care of it now, or place it in your high-priority in-box. Whatever you do, don’t ignore it, bury it, or throw it into a haphazard pile of forgotten miscellaneous items. The key to being organized is never getting disorganized in the first place.
5. Develop a system: Everyone’s style of keeping tabs on their commitments is different–some prefer handwritten, portable day planners, others like computer calendar software, and some use a combination of technology and old-school calendaring. What’s important is to keep consistent track of your schedule in one way or another, mapping out your business meetings, deadlines, and family obligations so that nothing is overlooked. I recommend the paperless, electronic approach–it’s good for the environment, easy to use, and cuts down on clutter.
6. Don’t overdo it: Organizing is a simple and beneficial tool, but like anything else, if you overdo it, it loses it’s effectiveness. If you spend too much time focused on how to file most effectively, sort the most precisely, or schedule every insignificant detail of your day, you’ll be squeezing out the opportunity to make things happen. Don’t get bogged down in the process, use the process to keep you from getting bogged down.

 

Being a WOW leader entails more than having a dynamic personality or influential ideas–it’s about skillfully implementing your vision and successfully blazing a trail for others to follow. And you can only do that if you un-clutter your life and take steps to be and remain organized.

–Sheri Staak