The Disorganized Boss!
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As I write this blog I’m traveling down Interstate 80 through Nebraska with my husband. I’m sixteen hours away from the start of my work week in Denver with a laptop on my lap. My husband is driving and as we get closer to the Colorado state line, my anxiety is increasing thinking about all I have to do before I walk into the workplace tomorrow morning. Meetings start at 7:00 a.m., followed by presentations, budget reviews and numerous problems to solve--needless to say I’m feeling overwhelmed. Western Nebraska is looking pretty good right now.



Prior to this trip, I had imaged my husband and I having a great trip, driving, talking, and fondly laughing at the quirks of the Midwest. The real truth? He’s listening to the Broncos game on the radio and I’m typing away wondering how I’ll tackle this never-ending workload.



Luckily I have Denise Levine scheduled for my upcoming radio show. Denise is a professional organizer, time management coach, and image consultant with a passion for all things organized. “Denise, save me,” I hissed to myself. Denise’s show is titled “The Disorganized Boss.“ As much as I hate to admit it, I have to say I’m a disorganized boss. I’m not proud of that. I made a career out of being organized but the days are gone where I have a manageable workload.



I thought of some advice Denise provided this past week as we talked about the show. Delegate. Delegate the work you don’t have time to do to those who find this work enjoyable, easy and effortless. I’ve heard this advice before from numerous time management gurus but not with the added touch of delegate to those who enjoy doing this type of work.



I admit, I struggle with this suggestion because everyone is busy and many companies are running lean when it comes to their people resources. I thought about the daily routine of trading stories in the break room as we compete for who has the most work on their plates. It’s become a badge of honor to have the best story of the day by 10:00 a.m. sharing the drama as we get the kids off to school, the drive through horrific traffic, the long line at Starbucks, and the conflict that arises from our first meetings of the day. My colleagues offer to help, but I know when that moment arrives—even with the best intentions, they’ll recommend me to another colleague who can help. Should I give up?



After Denise provided this advice, I decided to give it a try. Here’s what happened. I had an unexpected presentation due in 24 hours. I met separately with three colleagues, and asked for their thought leadership on the portion of the presentation I knew they had the greatest expertise. All three offered provided their advice and offered to help because they knew they could do in 30 minutes what would take me over an hour to do easily and effortlessly. Between the four of us that presentation was completed by mid-afternoon. As we bumped along the interstate into Colorado, I thought about Denise’s advice. It had worked. I planned to try it again this week with intentions of paying it forward as well. That’s the right thing to do.



The Disorganized Boss can be heard at http://webtalkradio.net. Denise shares some truly exceptional solutions for how to go from overwhelmed to being focused easily and effortlessly.



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