As a Mindful Leader, establishing positive habits is incredibly important to your personal and professional success. As I discussed in my January Blog Article, purposeful daily habits will ultimately help you reach your goals and live in alignment with your version of success.

If you are looking for a more in-depth approach to building new habits or breaking bad ones, I strongly recommend you check out the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. An industry leader on the topic, Clear’s book delves into the science of habit formation, providing insights for individuals, leaders, and executives seeking new and effective ways to manage their time, stress, and energy.

Here are my key takeaways from the book.

The Power of Tiny Changes

My biggest takeaway from the book was the concept of “1% better.” As a Coach, this resonated deeply with me, because often my clients over-extend themselves when establishing new habits, resulting in burnout or failure. Clear’s concept of atomic habits, and aiming for 1% better, allows you to establish small, incremental changes that compound over time, leading to significant results.

Leaders can apply this principle to time management by encouraging their team members to break larger projects into manageable tasks. This will empower their team members to take ownership of their daily routines and schedules and break through distractions by focusing on one small task at a time. By empowering their teams to break down big goals into manageable tasks, leaders create a pathway for sustained productivity and stress reduction.

Habit Stacking for Efficient Time Management

Another tool from Atomic Habits that I regularly introduce to clients is “habit stacking,” a technique where new habits are anchored to, or paired with, existing routines. Here are two examples that Clear shares in the book:

After I pour my cup of coffee each morning, I will meditate for one minute.

After I sit down to dinner, I will say one thing I’m grateful for that happened today.

As a leader, you can leverage this concept in several ways. Here is an example from my client Kevin, a VP Management Director, who wanted to feel more grounded and prepared for meetings. “After I turn on my computer, and before I check my emails, I will spend 15 minutes reviewing my schedule and jotting down 2-3 notes or questions for each meeting I have that day.” He also added, “After each meeting, before joining the next, I will take 1 minute to capture any key takeaways, questions, or follow-ups.”

You can also encourage your team to integrate new, positive habits into existing workflows. A simple way to coach your team members into stacking new habits or routines is by asking what is already working and how they can incorporate the new habit into that routine. Coaching your team to stack habits empowers them to problem-solve and enhances their ability to navigate stress and brainstorm creative solutions.

Identity-Based Habits

Clear introduces the idea of identity-based habits, where individuals align their habits with the type of person they want to become. This is a biggie. In our quest to achieve that elusive thing called “success,” we often forget to slow down and ask ourselves what success means to us.

As a leader, you can cultivate a culture of growth within your team. One way to do this is by encouraging team members to develop personalized definitions of success that align with their core values, are rooted in a sense of meaning and purpose, and inspire them from within. Then, you can encourage them to embody the habits they need to succeed. This shift in identity promotes positive habits and reduces stress associated with resistance to change.

Habit Tracking for Accountability

Forming a routine around new habits is a great start, but when it comes to making them permanent, habit tracking can be a powerful tool for accountability and motivation. According to the book, habit tracking is effective for three main reasons:

It creates a visual cue that can remind you to act.
It is motivating to see the progress you are making. You don’t want to break your streak.
It feels satisfying to record your success in the moment.

As a leader, you can introduce habit-tracking systems within your team. By sharing a visual representation of progress at team meetings, you can encourage open communication and mutual support, creating an environment where positive habits are reinforced collectively. This, in turn, will lead to increased collaboration, productivity, creativity, confidence, and decreased stress.

Delayed Gratification for Long-Term Success

The final concept I’d like to discuss from Clear’s Atomic Habits is delayed gratification. The thing that stands out to me Clear’s approach to discipline and delayed gratification is that he uses neuroscience to explain how we can use habits, habit tracking, and reward systems to rewire our brains to choose the right actions over the easy ones.

Referencing the 1960 Marshmallow Study by Stanford Professor Walter Mischel, and the 2012 twist on the same study by researchers at the University of Rochester, Clear discusses that we can train ourselves to be more disciplined by promising something small and then delivering, over and over again until your brain says, “yes, it’s worth it to wait” and “yes, I can do this.”

As a leader, you can guide your team to adopt habits and micro-reward systems that contribute to sustained success, even if the macro-rewards are not immediately apparent. Here are some ideas to help you, and your team members, do just that:

Start incredibly small. Make your new habit “so easy you can’t say no.”
Improve one thing, by one percent. Do it again tomorrow.
Reward yourself, and your team, early and often. Use gold stickers, a habit tracker, keep a celebration journal, or do a happy dance. And not just the first time you complete your habit, every single time until it is so ingrained into your subconscious that you no longer have to consciously think about it.
Just get started! As someone with ADHD, this is incredibly difficult. In the book, Clear recommends finding a way to get started in less than 2 minutes. In practice, this might mean opening a file before walking away to grab a coffee. Then, when you come back, it’s opened, and you’re ready to dive in.

Final Thoughts

Atomic Habits by James Clear is a transformative guide for individuals, leaders and executives seeking to enhance their time management, stress resilience, and energy management through the power of positive habits. By embracing the principles of Atomic Habits, leaders like you can cultivate a culture of continuous improvement, foster positive team dynamics, and empower individuals to achieve their full potential.

By integrating these lessons into your leadership style, you can lay the foundation for lasting positive change within yourself and your organization.

If you’re looking for more support than what a book can offer, partnering with a coach could be a great option.

To learn more about working with me, or to explore additional resources that will help you become a coaching leader, please consider subscribing to my newsletter, and connecting with me on social media: LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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