Do your habits support your leadership?

We all have habits, big ones and little ones.  Some we might not be aware of.

We form habits to make it easier to do the things we do frequently, requiring less thought and reflection. The evidence that it is a habit becomes apparent when we wonder “Did I turn off that light?”  Or, “I don’t remember the drive to work this morning.”  How we got here is now a mystery!

Some of our habits might not be helpful, and might very well interfere with effective leadership.  Let me name a few:

·       Treating policy and rules like they cannot be changed or eliminated.

·       Setting overly ambitious and deflating goals, instead of breaking things down into incremental, achievable goals and targets.

·       Prioritizing urgencies (emails, texts, other people’s problems) over importance (major projects, financial challenges, staff concerns).

·       Feeling like you can’t move forward without someone’s permission.

·       Permitting poor performance because it is just easier than dealing with the turbulence that will be caused if you deal with it.

·       Allowing resource issues to stop progress, rather than finding innovative ways to get things done.

·       Blaming others when things go wrong, instead of dealing with the process issues responsible.

·       Allowing distractions (new and bright/shiny initiatives) and procrastination take your attention away from what needs to be done.

·       Never taking time for self and family.

If any of these habits sound familiar, perhaps it is time to rethink them, and replace them with habits that are more in alignment with your intentions, for two reasons.  First, you’ll get more done.  And second, as a leader, you are being watched.

Others take their cues from what you are doing, affecting their assumptions about what is important and needs to be done.  Your habits can either support your leadership, or impede your leadership.  Your choice!

So, what habits would you add to this list?