I work with many great leaders, helping them to be even better. One of the most important aspects of leadership is to create rhythms in your life that over time bring the results you and others are looking for.
Superior leaders don’t drift into excellence. But they know that it is not just the big decisions that move them forward, but also the small, daily decisions that bring about profound results and deep fulfillment. Excellent leaders engage in ten simple daily practices that move them in the direction of success. If you cultivate these habits, you’ll move toward excellence.
These practices are:
- Making decisions consistent with your vision and mission as well as your personal sense of identity, purpose and values.
- Taking time to not just direct, but listen and clearly understand.
- Being clear and focused on your highest priorities.
- Building alignment with your team and the rest of your organization by sharing the vision and ensuring that actions are aligned with the vision, mission and goals.
- Influencing others to help them bring forth their best capabilities, talents and resources.
- Executing your plan.
- Spending 2-5% of your time reflecting on your vision, how well understood, aligned and implemented it is, as well as, how well your actions support fulfilling your vision.
- Organizing your environment to support your vision, mission and goals.
- Staying on course with your most powerful leveraged emotions (i.e. courage, faith, determination, focus, etc.)
- Determining what works and doing more of it; then determining what doesn’t work and doing less of it.
How can you implement these daily practices? Set aside some time to think through each of the items on this list. Then, each day, review them so that they guide your decisions and interactions that day. Keep what is most important in front of you.
Please join the conversation: Which of these ten do you do consistently? Which do you need to add or work on? What would you add to this list, based on your experience as a leader?
Leave a comment below to share with us.
