High Impact Habits For Successful Leaders
HIGH-IMPACT HABITS FOR SUCCESSFUL LEADERS |
“I can predict the long-term outcome of your success if you show me your daily habits.” —John Maxwell
Your habits matter more than you can imagine.
The potential of your leadership is a direct reflection of the quality of your habits. You are what you repeatedly do.
This is also true of your team. When you lead with intensity, your team will work with intensity. And if you don’t value excellence, your team will reflect that as well.
“The potential of your leadership is a direct reflection of the quality of your habits.” —Craig Groeschel
Don’t chase “super-habits.”
So many leaders think there are a few big, elusive, and hard-to-achieve super-habits that, if mastered, will make them a great leader. Nothing could be further from the truth.
- Big impacts are usually the result of small and wise habits.
- Most successful people aren’t great at everything. They’re highly-disciplined and have a few wise habits that set them apart.
- “Successful people do consistently what other people do occasionally.”—Craig Groeschel
The good news is you and the leaders around you are highly motivated to improve and grow in this season. You’ve set New Year’s resolutions and are determined to have a better 2022.
- The bad news is 92% of the resolutions people set don’t last. Why is that?
Here are three reasons you might not successfully act on those good intentions, and how you can lead from high hopes to healthy habits.
1. We focus on the “what” but don’t understand the “how.”
Many leaders spend way too much time focusing on their goals, but not how they’re going to achieve them. As James Clear says, goals don’t determine success. Systems determine success.
“Goals don’t determine success. Systems determine success.” —James Clear
As a leader, don’t think about changing the result. Focus on changing the systems that produce those results.
2. We don’t see progress fast enough.
Very rarely do leaders see immediate results when starting a good or bad habit. As a result, they wrongly conclude two things:
- Small, wise decisions don’t matter that much.
- Small, unwise decisions don’t matter that much.
Both of these conclusions are dangerously wrong. Our life and leadership are the sum-total of the small decisions we make.
When you have the right habits but aren’t seeing immediate results, your work isn’t being wasted. It’s the things no one sees that bring the results everyone wants.
“It’s the things no one sees that bring the results everyone wants.”—Craig Groeschel
3. Our negative self-perception sabotages our success.
We all have leadership insecurities. Those insecurities can create a dangerous leadership cycle in which an unhealthy identity creates unwise habits, and unwise habits reinforce that unhealthy identity.
Identity shapes actions. So, instead of setting goals that focus on “what” you want to do this year, set them around “who” you want to become.
You might want to become a…
- Leader who loves people.
- Leader who develops leaders.
- Leader who’s known for your integrity.
- Disciplined leader that people admire and respect.
You might even take this beyond leadership and say you want to become a faithful spouse or, if you struggle with an addiction, become sober.
When you do this, you’ll start a much healthier cycle where your healthy identity creates positive habits, and your positive habits reinforce your healthy identity.
Reflection
- What small good habits do you need to continue to see the benefit? What small bad habits should you stop before they become big bad habits?
- Answer the question, “Who do you want to become as a leader?” by creating three leadership “I am” statements instead of traditional New Year’s resolutions.