If You Want To Emulate the Most Successful Leaders, the Best Way Is to Adopt Their Habits
Successful leaders don’t get where they are by accident but by being intentional about their daily actions. They know it’s their habits—that is, the choices they make every day—that will contribute to who they are and how successful they can become. If you want to emulate the most successful leaders, the best way is to adopt their habits and apply them consistently. Here are seven of the most important:
Read daily. A successful leader knows the benefits of setting aside a time to read every day. They know it keeps them sharp, widens their perspective and increases their knowledge. It doesn’t even matter what you read—a journal in your field, a book on leadership theory, history, biography, even a well-crafted novel. The more you know and the better you can learn, the more capable you become at leading others.
Challenge yourself mentally. It’s not enough to know you’re smart if you don’t make a daily practice of challenging yourself to know more, be more and learn more. The most successful people consistently challenge their own thinking and push themselves to do better. They learn from their mistakes and from the mistakes of others.
Meditate regularly. Leaders need to be sharp and focused, able to juggle many things at once, and a clear mind gives you clear thinking. But it’s hard to achieve clarity when your mind is traveling a million miles a minute. That’s why almost every successful leader I know takes time to pause for a daily period of meditation, prayer, or quiet reflection. It’s a reset for your mind and body that leaves you feeling stronger and clearer. The quieter you become, the more you can hear.
Identify your priorities. There will always be something else to be done and something else to accomplish, and if you try to do everything you’re likely to end up doing nothing. The most successful leaders identify what’s most important and do those tasks first before they get distracted. This approach keeps them moving toward their goals no matter what else is going on.
Make health a priority. Great leaders share the habit of taking care of their health. They know a strong, fit body is the foundation for better thinking and reasoning, and they make a habit of being physical and exercising regularly, eating well and getting enough sleep. Keeping fit also provides a positive release from stress and helps build the stamina required for excellent leadership.
Know your purpose. I have never met a successful leader who didn’t have a defined purpose for why they do what they do. When you know what you want to accomplish, you can be laser focused on how you can best get there. If you organize your leadership around your purpose, you turn your purpose into something that truly matters.
Lead from within: Successful leadership is more an art than a science. Anyone can become a better, more effective, and more successful leader by faithfully following a few daily habits.