Friday, 09th of March 2018

How micro habits can make you a better leader

Read this article later:

Big changes don't come overnight. It is a series of consistent actions that create change.
And to kick in an open door: change is the only constant.
Contradictory to that, most people are in search for stability.

That contradiction is an important fact for your leadership role. You should provide the stability while -at the same time- constantly strive for the next change.
Being very consistent as a person, and consistent in your behaviours and actions, is a good way to be a trustworthy leader.

To be consistent, it can help you a lot if you have habits and routines installed for yourself.
And the same logic applies here: change doesn't come overnight. So to create those habits and routines, you need to have a series of smaller steps first, micro habits.

Read along to discover how you can create those micro habits.

We all have a limited amount of brainpower that we can use throughout the day.
If you don't want to waste your precious brainpower on trivial things, then it's good to create a routine around it so you can still execute them but don't have to think about how and when you are going to do them.

This will make you a strong and appreciated leader, because everybody wants to experience a form of stability, especially in an environment where everything is in constant change.

Imagine that you expect a certain behaviour or way of working from your team members. It is all agreed and everybody is willing to go for it.
Still you know you have to monitor it to be sure that it is implemented correctly.
Unfortunately your time to keep an eye on things is also limited and other important things are constantly distracting you. The moment you 'forget' to monitor the thing that was agreed, is the moment that it starts to fade again. At that moment you are also perceived as a non-consistent manager, because you agreed upon something, but then doesn't do it.
Probably because of good reasons (like a major thing that needed your attention).

If you can create a habit or routine around it for yourself, then you will not miss a beat in what you've agreed upon. And that makes you a very consistent person, doing exactly those things that will make your people and your team grow!

Creating a habit is actually not that hard. Follow these 5 steps, and you are able to create everything you'll ever need to be very consistent in your leadership:

1. Be very clear and specific for yourself why you need this habit, and what it will bring to you. Only when the advantage of doing it in the new way is appealing enough, then you will be able to keep up with it.
2. You need to be very clear about your trigger: the moment when you need to activate your (new) habit. If you want to ask a specific question to somebody every morning, then set an alarm for it, or link it to something you already do on a regular basis around that time.
3. Get started with the first step! The first step is always the most important one. Make sure you take that step (or force yourself to take that step), and all the related steps will follow automatically.
4. Bring in the discipline to keep doing it. Especially in the beginning. If you want to install a (new) habit, you know it will not come all by itself. You will need to put in some effort to make it work.
5. Expect that you are going to fail, and have a plan B ready. Failing isn't the problem, getting out of your routine isn't the problem, not being able to get back into your routine is the real problem! So be prepared (upfront!) to get yourself back on the right track from time to time.

If you follow these steps, then you can create any habit you want!
But the best advice of all: start small!

And that's where the micro habits come in.
Don't try to change everything at once. Just focus on a very small thing, a thing that will not cost you more then 60 seconds of extra effort, and focus on that for an entire week.
Do that every week again, and you will be surprised by how much you have changed at the end of the year, and how much more consistent -and because of that, how much more appreciated- you are as a leader!

So what will be your first micro habit that you are willing to change/install over the next week?

Not sure where to start?
Book a 30 minutes (re-)connect session with me, and we can start the discovery process to create the habit that will have the biggest impact on your leadership role!

Written by Dennis Fredrickx, the Business Booster
Dennis helps Ambitious Leaders to reach more in an easier way.