Five Tips for Following

I am not a "natural" leader. I am much better at the behind-the-scenes stuff. I am great at getting things organized once someone else has come up with the idea and has brought me on board. But I'm not the "idea person." I need a leader for that.

Many times we just sit back and criticize our leaders/bosses because we don't think they are doing the job right. We wouldn't necessarily want to be in their position, but still we talk behind their backs. Or perhaps we are envious of their position, and secretly think we should have their job.

Well, there are better things to do with our strengths while we follow or work our way up to the leadership position. For those of you who find yourselves in any of the above situations, here are some helpful tips for "following-the-leader," excerpts from The Enlightened Manager Blog.

1. Balance out the leader's strengths. If you work for a highly directive leader, one way to balance their strengths would be to ask good questions and strive to create a balance of advocacy and inquiry in the group. Or if your leader is a big picture thinker, you might contribute some of the detail-oriented bits that the team needs, to create a well rounded approach to issues.
2. Observe and learn. Learning from your own mistakes and triumphs is powerful. Learning from the mistakes and triumphs of others can be even better. Rather than sitting and making judgments of the leader, use your follower time to make observations about the whole team.
3. Boost your Leader Up. Leading teams can be tough, so when you see your leader making a good point or trying to lead a necessary but difficult conversation, offer your support both verbally and with your body language.
4. Practice your Challenging Skills. Challenging the group might include sentences that start "I'd like us to look at this from another angle..." or "I think there is something we are overlooking...." or even "I'm worried that we're making a mistake."
5. Relax a little. For those of you in leadership roles, it can be draining at times. When you are in situations when you are a regular-ole-participant, kick your feet up a bit (at least mentally) and enjoy a brief respite from the demands of leadership. Strive to be the employee that you would like to have on your team.

I hope these tips are helpful for you. Perhaps they can make your following a little less stressful. We can all use that. And hopefully you can have a little better opinion of your leader/boss because leaders need a lot of good followers to get their jobs done. Be a good follower. That way, if you someday do become the leader, you will have built a good reputation and will have some loyal followers of your own!

Organize by reusing old things

Sometimes when we are ready to get organized, get rid of clutter, or clean things up, we think we need to buy something new to get the job done - a new storage container, for example. However, as Deniece Schofield points out, "One way people can cut down on clutter and organize themselves better is to find new uses for things they already have sitting around the home."

That makes sense. If we're trying to get rid of clutter, then using some of that clutter to help us out will already help the cause. She says, "I always recommend that before you shop for anything to get organized, you should look around to see if there’s anything else you can use. When you’re really pressed for space, you have to think creatively."

In other words, find new uses for things you already have. That saves time and money. So when you are looking around at things that seem to be clutter, think about how else they might be used. Be creative. It could even be fun thinking of new ways to use old things! Just make sure you don't fall into the trap of thinking now you have to save everything in case you might be able to find some new use for it some day. That is the definition of clutter for most of us!

Organizing your Office

Your office can be the place where you spend the majority of your time away from home. If your office is cluttered and disorganized, it can therefore easily be a major source of the frustration and stress you take home from the office (and dare I say it, take it out on the family!) Therefore any time spent getting your office organized is time well spent to reduce some stress, not to mention improved efficiency. I don't think anyone could be efficient in an office that looks like the one in the picture. If that is how your office looks, you really need to read the rest of this post.

Craig J. Vom Lehn shares some good tips in his "How to become successful!" blog in an article entitled Ten Ways to Get Rid of Office Clutter. Here is his list, then I will highlight one I think is especially important.

1. Assess your space. Is there a place to store non-priority files, extra office supplies, etc?
2. Take immediate action. Decide daily which item you no longer need and get rid of it.
3. On Friday, go through your desk ten minutes before work ends and throw away things that you know are just idle clutter.
4. Organize and systemize. Organize paperwork, reports, etc. into files that are filed by a system of priorities.
5. Remove personal clutter.
6. De-clutter your computer. (See my previous post Organize your computer's desktop)
7. Clear floor space. This will create a perception of more space (and people won't trip over things!)
8. Don't become a dumping ground. (I'll highlight this one in a bit later.)
9. Learn from others. Visit other de-cluttered offices to pick up tips for yourself. Notice how they use desk and floor space efficiently.
10. Keep it clean! Keep office furniture dusted, trash bins empty, throw food stuffs some place outside of your office (do you really like those lingering nasty smells?)

By utilizing these organizational tips, you will boost your job productivity. And that is a good thing!

Now to # 8. Don't become a dumping ground. Here is Craig's explanation. "When you're working on a project with others, let one of them become that place where all project-related documents are kept. If a co-worker wants to leave a stack of papers for you to review, offer instead to visit your co-worker's office to review them there. This also presents an opportunity to take a break away from your office."

The break away from your own office is good. It gives you a chance to stretch, to get your mind off of your current tasks for a bit, to let your mind flow freely while you walk to the other office (that's when solutions to problems often present themselves), gives your legs a little exercise, and gives you a change of scenery.

Keeping the "stack of papers" in your co-worker's office also keeps that clutter out of your office. Plus you don't have that stack of papers staring you in the face reminding you that you have to look at them sometime (stress building from the ground up). That way you can schedule yourself a time when you want to look them over and do them at your own pace, rather than because those papers were staring you down until you finally gave in. Don't underestimate the power of a stack of papers!

You can check out the full article for a little more explanation to all these points. Also, see my previous post Organize by dealing with it once!

So there you have it - a way to help keep your office decluttered, your stress level a little lower, and your efficiency a little higher. Wow. Aren't you glad you read this?