5 Stupidly Simple Habits That Made Me a Better Leader

How small behavioral tweaks turned into big leadership gains.

I’ve been leading for more than two decades, and what made the biggest difference in how I lead didn’t come from a fancy MBA course or a breakthrough strategy session.

It came from five habits so stupidly simple, I almost dismissed them.

They were easy to skip, easy to forget, and definitely not the kind of things that would trend on LinkedIn.

But they worked.

Here are the five habits that slowly, consistently, and completely changed the way I lead, and how you can adopt these too.

---

---

1. I started writing down one leadership win each day

At the end of each day, I wrote down one small leadership win.

Just one.

It could be something as simple as:

• Giving tough feedback and having it land well

• Saying no to a distraction

• Helping someone get clarity in a 1:1

The point wasn’t to brag or keep score. The point was to reflect. And reflection, as it turns out, is the superpower most leaders skip.

A study from Harvard Business School found that employees who spent just 15 minutes reflecting at the end of the day performed 23% better after 10 days than those who didn’t.

For me, this habit built self-awareness. It helped me notice what was working and sometimes, what wasn’t.

And maybe most importantly, it gave me a reservoir of stories and examples to draw from. In coaching sessions, performance reviews as well in moments of doubt.

I stopped letting the days disappear into thin air, and started learning from each one.

---

2. I began asking “What do you need from me?” in 1:1s

Early in my leadership journey, I saw 1:1s as a status check. I would discuss project updates, roadblocks, and of course, timelines.

But then I started asking one simple question, and that flipped the entire dynamic of our 1:1:

“What do you need from me?”

When I asked this question, it reminded my team:

• This space is for you

• I’m here to support, not micromanage

• You can tell me what’s not working

The beauty of this question is that the answer is not always the dry “we’re on track.”

• Sometimes, they needed a decision.

• Sometimes, they needed air cover.

• And many times, they just needed to vent.

According to Gallup, managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement. One of the most consistent patterns among high-performing managers is individualized attention.

This one question creates that.

---

3. I stopped replying to messages immediately

This one was hard for me, personally.

Like most people in leadership roles, my days were full of Slack pings, emails, Teams messages, and sometimes phone calls.

And I prided myself on being responsive. If someone messaged me at 8:14, I’d reply by 8:15.

I thought I was being helpful, fast, and it felt like “good leadership.”

But it turns out, it wasn’t.

What I was actually doing was:

• Training my team to depend on instant answers

• Robbing them of space to think or solve problems

• Burning myself out, one notification at a time

So I stopped, not completely, but intentionally.

I built in “focus hours” where I didn’t check messages or emails. I turned off Slack notifications, and gave myself (and my team) some breathing space.

And ironically, doing this helped me to gain more respect from my team. When I modeled boundaries, my team members felt safe to set them too.

And, it helped me become more thoughtful, strategic, and less reactive.

---

4. I repeated team priorities out loud. A lot.

I used to think repeating the same message made me sound like a broken record.

Then I realized something: If I wasn’t repeating it, no one remembered it.

So I picked our top 3 priorities as a team. And I repeated them in all-hands, in team chats, in 1:1s, and in reviews.

It was the same message, but in different formats, over and over.

And it worked.

I noticed that my team members started quoting the priorities back to me. They used them to make trade-offs and decisions.

The world today is full of noise, and clarity is kindness. And clarity comes from repetition.

Patrick Lencioni once wrote, “If you’re not sick of hearing yourself say it, you’re not saying it enough.”

According to Harvard Business Review, high-performing teams over-communicate priorities by 3X compared to average ones.

---

5. I started celebrating boring progress

Everyone celebrates big wins.

But the biggest shift in my leadership came when I started celebrating boring wins:

• A smoother team meeting

• A cleaner code deployment

• A process that ran without reminders

At first, it felt strange. I wasn’t used to praising things that felt... ordinary.

But what I realized is that ordinary is where trust lives.

When I started recognizing these moments, my team lit up, and I could feel the vibe lifting. They felt more motivated and energized.

And over time, those “boring” improvements added up to serious momentum. This principle applies at every level of leadership.

• You want a culture of innovation? Start by noticing small, daily progress.

• You want more initiative? Start by appreciating small steps.

• You want a team that cares? Start by showing that you care about what they’re already doing well.

---

Final Thought

The best leaders don’t just think big.

They act small, with stupidly simple habits that stick.

Which habit resonated most with you? Or is there a small habit that’s made a big difference in your leadership? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you.

---

🛠️ The Ultimate Leadership Toolkit

If you found this post helpful, you’ll love The Ultimate Leadership Toolkit, your complete system to lead with clarity, calm, and confidence.

Built on The Leadership Mastery System™, it helps you master leadership in three proven steps: Learn → Apply → Connect. You’ll get 60+ ready-to-use tools, worksheets, mind maps, and guides to help you turn insight into action. 👇

---

The Good Boss is funded by paid subscriptions from readers like yourself. If you aren’t already, consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive the full experience! Thank you! 🙏

👋 Let’s connect: LinkedIn · Substack · X

PS: If you’re enjoying The Good Boss, I will appreciate it if you would hit the ❤️ button and share/restack 🔁 it with others who might find it helpful. Thank you!

Also, I’d love your feedback! 💬 Leave a quick testimonial here, and as a thank-you, I’ll send you a free copy of my book! It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you! 🙏