As we continue to approach the end of 2020, now is a good time to manifest new behaviors for 2021. Every day as leaders, the level of effectiveness is predicated by several actions. Some of those actions could be the ability to be flexible, execute a vision, delegate tasks, empower team members, and more. One thing that should be considered in increasing effective leadership is creating organized thoughts and actions daily.
One may ask, 'what does organization have to do with effective leadership'? The answer is simple: EVERYTHING. Organization is one of the most critical concepts for having clear thought and action to follow. Leading individuals and teams requires a clear path to be defined and communicated. Good organizational skills help lend to that effort. When a leader fosters good organizational skills, the benefits for individuals, teams, and leader include:
More productivity
Less stress
Cohesive work environments
Enhanced relationships
Leaders with good organizational skills have some common traits and generally put the following in practice consistently.
Create, maintain, and adhere to schedules. Schedules assist in seeing what needs to happen and when. This helps leaders prioritize their work, ensure they are on target with responsibilities, and reduces the potential for missing a deadline or target task.
Ensure organized physical environments. Organized working spaces minimize oversight of documents and allow the leader to have decluttered thoughts while working.
Work to reduce distractions. One of the themes of good organization includes clarity. Disorganization can create chaos, and chaos creates distractions and decreases focus. Organization minimizes the amount of filtering through distractions and confusion by creating clear thoughts and actions.
Identify resources (people or systems) to be utilized for accountability. An organized leader believes in accountability and will look for people or systems that support schedules, enhance physical environments, and drown out the noise.
What are some other ways you have found to stay organized and reap the benefits? Share in the comments.