The Habit Leader
Here’s a thought
Successful people have successful habits and unsuccessful people have unsuccessful habits.
Over the last ten years of being a member of my health and fitness club I have noticed a pretty solid trend. Most of the year classes are about half full, I can get on a rowing machine without waiting and I usually have a lane to myself in the pool. Then turn of the year, January and early February the place is packed. I have to book a week in advance to get in yoga and spin classes and have little chance of a decent swim through the day.
It seems like everyone is on a New Year’s resolution to lose weight or get fit and they have all joined my club. Late January things return to normal and while the club manager has angst over new membership collapse I’m happy to get back into the pool.
Getting changed after a late night swim last week I overheard a conversation between two club members:
- “My wife has stopped me drinking through the week for ‘dry’ January”
- “How do you feel?”
- “Actually, quite a bit better, sharper and less bloated”
- “Great! What do you think you are going to do in February?”
- “Probably go back to getting pi**ed most nights”
We hear people say ‘I wish I could …… lose weight, get fitter, give up smoking, spend more time with the kids etc…….. but I just don’t have the discipline’. For me discipline is not the problem – we are 100% disciplined to our existing habits. Successful people have successful habits and unsuccessful people have unsuccessful habits. It’s about habits!
What about the leader’s habits? In full glare of followers the leader’s habits are magnified many times over, for better or worse. Listening or interrupting, encouraging or knocking – your habits build the culture, ‘the way we do things round here’, which in turn informs your and the organisation’s success or otherwise.
As a leader which habit would you like to change or adopt? My coach tells me it takes twenty one consecutive days to build a habit and from experience I believe this to be true.
Magnified by exposure in a complex system you’re corrected or new habit might just transform the organisation, though watch out for it being a fad – expectations have been raised!
If you are interested in exploring new perspectives, then you will find our book 21st Century People Leadership useful. If you would like a copy please send your details to tracey@dsabuilding.co.uk and we will send to you by post, free.
The next edition of ‘The Leader’ will be with you on Tuesday 4th March 2014.