Every May, we instinctively turn to fresh starts. We clean out closets, plant new gardens, and finally tackle the clutter we’ve been ignoring all winter. But while we’re focused on physical spaces, few leaders stop to consider the clutter building up in their strategies and team processes.

The truth is: strategic clutter is just as dangerous as physical clutter — maybe even more so.

When leaders pile on new initiatives without retiring old ones, teams lose focus, energy, and momentum.

If everything is important, nothing truly is.

That’s why smart leadership isn’t just about adding new ideas — it’s about making decisions about what to stop.

The Hidden Cost of Cluttered Leadership

Every unnecessary project or outdated process comes with a cost.

• It steals time from work that matters.
• It drains emotional energy from teams who are already stretched thin.
• It clouds the organization’s true vision with noise and distraction.

Over time, strategic clutter can even chip away at culture, morale, and innovation — as employees become frustrated with "busy work" that doesn’t clearly serve the mission.

Why May Is the Perfect Time for a Strategy Reset

Mid-year shouldn’t just be a check-in on performance metrics — it should be a mindset opportunity. By May, you have enough real data to see what’s working and what’s not. At the same time, there’s still enough year left to course-correct meaningfully.

Instead of piling on another initiative to "fix" what feels off, consider a more radical — and often more effective — move: Cut the clutter.

Freeing up even 10-20% of your team’s bandwidth can dramatically increase energy, creativity, and focus for the remainder of the year.

How to Spring Clean Your Strategy

Step 1: Create Space for Honest Conversation
Host a dedicated “stop-doing” meeting with your leadership team.
Frame it positively: this isn’t about criticizing past decisions — it’s about building a stronger future.

Step 2: Ask the Right Questions
Encourage open dialogue around three key questions.

1. What are we currently doing that no longer aligns with our top goals?
2. Which projects or processes feel heavy without delivering clear value?
3. If we could stop one thing today, what would create the biggest relief or momentum?

Step 3: Make Courageous Decisions
Stopping something can be harder than starting something new.
Leaders must model the courage to let go, even if it means admitting that an earlier idea didn’t pan out as expected. Protect your team's energy like the precious resource it is.

Step 4: Communicate with Care
If you retire an initiative, be clear and kind in how you communicate it to your teams.
Help them see that cutting work is a leadership strength, not a failure — and that it creates space for deeper focus and bigger wins.

Moving Forward: Leading with Less, Achieving More

The best leaders aren’t the ones doing the most.
They’re the ones doing what matters most.

Spring cleaning is a leadership discipline.
They know that clarity, not busyness, is what builds momentum.

And the leaders who embrace it now will set themselves up for a sharper, stronger second half of the year.

To help you put this into action, we created a Leadership Spring Cleaning Checklist — a simple guide to help you declutter your leadership habits, your team's workflows, and your strategic priorities, one week at a time.