Oftentimes, we associate leadership with something big and transformational. But few people realize that transformation isn’t something that happens overnight. Transformation is a process that takes a long time just like getting into great shape! It’s a result of gradual improvement that eventually leads to something big.
In my book, The Future Leader, one of the things I talk about is the 1% day rule. If you can improve yourself by 1% a day, by the end of the year, you’re going to be 37 times better.
Here are examples of small things that you can do to become a better leader, shared with me by world-class leaders.
- Recognize somebody on your team – Recognizing somebody on your team can be as simple as saying “thank you.” Or it could be as simple as sending an email to praise someone on your team.
- Put together a diverse and inclusive team – Put together a group of people with different backgrounds, experiences, education levels, ethnicities, and beliefs.
- Practicing self-care – Do what you need to take care of yourself so that you can take care of others. It’s as simple as eating healthy, exercising, getting enough sleep, and doing whatever else you need to do.
- Practice empathy – Take a couple seconds and put yourself in somebody else’s shoes. Try to understand their perspective and then respond based on that.
- Give yourself time to be curious – Give yourself and your team members 20 to 30 minutes a day to just be curious. It could be reading, watching, or listening to something.
- Practice listening rather than hearing – Listening means putting away your distractions, paying attention to your body language, and giving someone the gift of your attention. This is a very simple thing to do, but very impactful, especially if you are a leader.
Being a great and effective leader is not often about big, crazy transformations. It’s really about the little things that you do regularly that over time, lead to a massive impact. So ask yourself, what can you do to improve by 1% a day?
What are the small things that you can do to become a better leader? Share below!
I put together a video which talks about this in more detail. Please check it out below and if you want more content like this you can subscribe to my Youtube channel.
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