Chapter 4:
Gene (the Chaotic Genius) is thriving in mess
Gene came into work on Tuesday morning feeling exhausted. He had been up late finishing his section of a policy impact assessment. Another brief was due tomorrow morning and he wasn’t sure he could handle another late night.
Yawning, he opened his inbox and immediately saw a stack of follow-up email—mostly admin stuff he had been putting off. Great, he thought, imagining himself stuck under an avalanche of loose papers.
Staff performance plans and one-on-one catch-ups were due this week. He had only completed one so far. To be fair, the plans were drafted and waiting on his review, and the staff had even booked meetings, but he had rescheduled a couple of times to focus on his real work.
Finance was also chasing him again about overdue travel acquittals from a recent conference and about approvals of invoices for specialist advice his team had commissioned.
Today he also had his fortnightly meeting with his boss Stuart, who had headed up the Strategic Policy division for the past ten years. Stuart was a great guy, and Gene usually enjoyed their chats, but he had hoped to spend the day working on the brief so he could finally get to bed at a decent hour.
He scrolled through his inbox, searching for messages tied directly to his core work. The admin stuff would just have to wait. He had built his reputation on solving complex problems, not on delivering timely paperwork.
He was just reading through the first message when his team’s business manager Gwen appeared in his doorway.
‘Good morning, Gene. How are you going?’
‘A bit tired, but good, thanks.’
‘Sorry to bug you, but Finance called me yesterday about some outstanding paperwork.’ She leaned against the doorframe. ‘They’re trying to wrap up the month for executive team reporting, so I figured I’d give you a nudge.’
‘Yeah, I saw their messages. I’ve got an urgent brief to tackle today, so I’m not sure I’ll get to it.’
‘Want me to pop in for thirty minutes this afternoon and help you power through the admin?’ Gwen offered.
‘Yeah, okay. How about 2 pm? I’ve got my meeting with Stuart at 3.’
‘Great, I’ll send you a calendar invite.’
He felt a weight lift. He would focus on the brief first, take a break, knock out the finance stuff with Gwen’s help, then head to Stuart’s meeting.
Maybe, just maybe, he would leave work on time for once. And tomorrow, when he was a bit more rested, he might even start tackling those performance plans. By the weekend, he should actually feel on top of things.
He grabbed a sticky note and scribbled: draft brief, clear finance tasks, leave early! The day was looking up.
***
Gene had been working on the brief for about an hour when a colleague popped his head in. ‘Got about ten minutes?’ He’d been reading Gene’s draft from last night and had a few questions before it was sent to the other agency involved in the policy project. Gene couldn’t say no—this brief was due by close of business.
What was supposed to be a quick ten-minute chat stretched to forty-five. Finally, he was able to turn his attention back to his work.
An hour later, his phone rang. It was another colleague with a question squarely in Gene’s area of expertise. This was routine; Gene was the go-to expert and liked to help. Besides, someone else’s problem was always more interesting than his own half-finished work, so the fifteen-minute call was a welcome distraction. Then it was time to get back to the brief.
At some point, his stomach growled and he glanced at the clock: 1 pm. Crap, he thought. The brief was only halfway done and he really needed to grab lunch. The rest of the afternoon would be packed with meetings—with Gwen and then Stuart. He realised he may need to stay back late tonight. Again. He just didn’t want to take work home.
Back at his desk at 1.15 pm with his lunch, Gene tried multitasking: eating while working on the brief. It wasn’t very productive. He felt tired, crumbs kept dropping on his keyboard, and the thought of the 2 pm admin session made him cringe. He wanted to focus on his core work, not paperwork.
He sent Gwen a quick message: ‘Swamped. Can we push our catch-up to tomorrow?’
Two minutes later, Gwen appeared in his office. ‘Finance called again—they’re running reports tomorrow and need the stuff by close of business.’ She paused. ‘HR also asked me to remind you about the performance plans and one-on-ones due by the end of the week. They’ve already given you an extension and held off pulling stats for the CEO as long as they can.’
Gwen gave him an unapologetic look. ‘Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. What do you want to do?’
Gene sighed. ‘Okay, let’s keep the 2 pm meeting.’
At 1.55 pm, his phone rang again. A colleague was checking in on the brief. ‘You on track to deliver tomorrow?’
‘Yep, wrapping it up today,’ Gene said.
‘Well, while I have you…’ The colleague launched into more technical questions.
Gene noticed Gwen walking past his office several times, each time retreating when she saw he was on the phone. He gave her a small, apologetic shrug through the open door, but didn’t hang up.
By 2.20 pm, Gene finally emerged. ‘Sorry,’ he said. Gwen was wrapping up an email and said she’d be there in ten minutes.
At 2.30 pm, their meeting finally began. They rushed through the finance tasks. Gene kept checking the time in the corner of his laptop screen, annoyed with himself for not leaving more prep time before his meeting with Stuart.
At 2.58 pm, he grabbed his laptop and hurried to Stuart’s office on another floor. By the time he had navigated the slow lifts, he arrived about ten minutes late.
So much for feeling on top of things.
***
The meeting with Stuart began as usual: some small talk, then down to business. Stuart checked in on Gene’s key briefs, flagging some upcoming deadlines. Then the tone shifted.
‘You know how much I value what you do,’ Stuart began. ‘You have amazing expertise, and people love working with you.’
Gene sensed the ‘but’ coming.
‘But I really need you to be more on top of your admin—the performance plans especially.’ Stuart explained the pressure: HR was pulling stats Monday morning, the senior executives were focused on retention, and he was meeting with his own boss that afternoon. ‘If our plans aren’t in, the division looks like it doesn’t care about staff development. I’d like to show Steve we’re leading the way.’
He softened slightly. ‘I’m not a fan of paperwork either, I get it, but see if you can lean on Gwen more. That’s what she’s there for.’
Gene nodded. He remained quiet, still processing that his paperwork delays were creating a reputational problem for his boss.
‘The second thing is the across-government briefs.’ Stuart’s tone stayed calm but serious. ‘I got a call last week from another agency. Apparently things are sent late from our side so they barely have enough time to respond.’ He looked at Gene. ‘Your work is brilliant, but the timing is making it hard for others to do their jobs.’
Gene shifted in his seat. He prided himself on being a helpful guy, and now he felt like a total jerk.
Stuart softened his voice. ‘I struggled with this myself, honestly. I’d arrive with the best intentions and let my helpfulness swallow my whole day.’ He leaned forward slightly. ‘But the higher you go, the more you have to own your calendar. You can’t let the technical work crowd out your leadership responsibilities. And getting the performance plans done helps you too. It builds your successors and creates more support around you.’
Gene took a breath. ‘I hear you, Stuart. Sorry, I didn't realise the delay was hitting the other teams that hard. I’ve actually just cleared the finance backlog with Gwen. I’m blocking out tomorrow for the plans and I’ll have the one-on-ones finished by Friday.’
‘Great, that’s what I wanted to hear,’ Stuart said, looking pleased, then chuckled. ‘I want this division to have the best stats! Let me know if you need extra support to make that happen.’
As Gene stood up, Stuart added, ‘That strategic skills course—the first module’s due this week. I’ll get my EA to book us time on Friday afternoon to go through your self-assessment scores.’ He smiled. ‘I have a feeling it’ll be useful.’
***
Gene looked out the window of his office. It was 7 pm and the sun was setting. He was utterly exhausted but at least the brief was done and sent on to the next set of contributors.
Stuart’s words flashed through his mind as he packed up his things. He winced as the embarrassment returned. It wasn't just that Stuart had pulled him up; it was the realisation that his 'helpfulness' had become a burden to the very people he thought he was supporting.
Gene decided to tackle the performance plans first thing tomorrow and ignore everything else until they were done.
***
The next morning, Gene was determined to stick to his promise. He closed his office door, redirected his calls to voicemail and entered his ‘focus bunker’. By 10.30 am, he had powered through the performance plans.
He sat back, pleased with his progress but also annoyed that he had put off a two-hour task for so long—especially to the point of getting Stuart offside.
Encouraged, he decided to tackle the strategic skills course.
***
Gene watched the first few videos with interest. He liked the phrase ‘Jerk Mode’—it summed up exactly how he’d felt in Stuart’s office yesterday.
The module was a refreshing blend of real talk and a pep talk. He chuckled as the narrator described Chaotic Genius mode; he could totally relate.
His analytical mind lit up when he saw the title of the next video: ‘The three dimensions of strategic thinking’. He hit play and a simple graphic appeared with three overlapping circles.
‘Dimension 1: Be proactive,’ the narrator began. ‘This is not about planning everything out perfectly, nor trying to foresee every possible threat to success. Strategic thinkers aim to manage the 80% they can predict and build resilience to successfully respond to the 20% they can’t.’
Gene thought of his 'focus bunker' morning. He’d just done exactly that—clearing the 80% to make room for the 20%. I’m a natural, he thought.
‘Dimension 2: Focus on what matters.’ The screen shifted to a funnel icon. ‘You can’t fight every battle. Strategic thinkers align their efforts to the purpose of their role so they can recognise future opportunities or challenges that are out of scope. This requires making trade-offs: choosing the core work that makes the most difference and letting go of the rest, because it’s better to do fewer things exceptionally well than to do many things poorly.’
Pick your battles, Gene noted. He liked that. It sounded like an excuse to say 'no' to the boring stuff, though he suspected the video meant something more disciplined.
‘Dimension 3: See the bigger picture,’ the narrator continued. ‘This is about playing the long game and recognising that you don't succeed in a vacuum. Strategic thinkers balance meeting their own needs with building support for the broader system, while ensuring a sustainable pace to protect their own and the team’s wellbeing.’
The word 'wellbeing' made Gene think about his own late nights this week. He pushed the thought aside. Maybe he wasn’t the most proactive with admin, but he was clearly good at the other two dimensions. Seeing the big picture and focusing on the core policy issues were his strengths.
The first module was interesting, but he figured the next one—about working more strategically—would be where the real value lay.
At the end of the video, a prompt appeared: ‘Complete your self-assessment’.
Ah, this must be the one I’ll discuss with Stuart on Friday, he thought, clicking the link. He would compare notes with Rob at the pub afterwards—a much better way to end the week.
The questionnaire asked him to rate himself Low, Medium or High against fifteen statements across the three dimensions. He scanned them, pausing on the ones that stung.
Under 'Be proactive,' one statement read: 'I have systems in place to keep routine work flowing without constant attention.' He thought of Gwen rescuing him from the finance backlog yesterday. Did that count as a system? He decided it probably did. He gave himself a Medium.
Under ‘Focus on what matters,’ most felt solid. He regularly prioritised high-impact policy work over the admin noise. He clicked High for those questions.
Then came the ‘See the bigger picture’ dimension. One statement stopped him: ‘I consider how my deadlines, requests and working style affect my colleagues’ workload.’ He recalled Stuart’s words from yesterday: The timing is making it hard for others to do their jobs. He hesitated, wondering if he should click Medium. He clicked High, telling himself his delays were mainly around admin, not his core work.
The final statement read: ‘I model sustainable work habits that protect both my wellbeing and my team’s.’ He thought of his late nights this week. He clicked Medium, feeling that was honest enough.
Gene’s overall scores were Medium for ‘Be proactive’ and High for the other two. He considered revising his scores on the first dimension to give himself a Low, based on yesterday's chat with Stuart—Stuart would probably expect that—but decided against it. The admin delays weren’t the whole picture. He was proactive when it came to his actual expertise and that counted for something.
Once his assessment was done, he sent his scores to Stuart and headed out to lunch feeling lighter—he’d cleared his backlog and could free up the rest of his day to being helpful. He was the model of focus and efficiency.