Good intentions do not automatically become reliable working practices. A leader may want to protect planning time, record decisions or follow up with customers, yet find that these actions disappear when the week becomes busy.
Habit-design ideas offer a way to examine that gap. They do not make strategy execute itself, remove a genuine workload problem or guarantee better business results. Start with one useful behaviour and test whether its place in your working day makes sense.
Two models, used with care
BJ Fogg’s Behaviour Model focuses on motivation, ability and a prompt coming together when a behaviour occurs. For a leader, the practical question is whether the action is both prompted and feasible at that moment, not simply whether you want it enough.
James Clear’s habit framework describes four stages: cue, craving, response and reward. In plain language, consider what signals the action, what makes it appealing, what you do and what you get from it. These models are useful prompts for reflection; neither establishes that a particular leadership routine will increase revenue or prevent burnout.
Choose one routine that solves a real problem
Match the routine to an observed need rather than copying someone else’s morning schedule. Three possibilities are:
- Planning time: reserve a manageable period for a defined strategic task, if your role and customer commitments allow it.
- Decision capture: before a meeting ends, record the decision, action owner and next review date.
- Customer follow-up: review the next agreed action for relevant opportunities at a frequency appropriate to your sales cycle.
These are options, not three mandatory habits. In particular, there is no reason to discard every sales opportunity that has been quiet for seven days. Understand the customer’s decision process and your agreed follow-up before changing its status.
Specify the smallest useful version
Write the action so that you can tell whether it happened. “Be more strategic” is difficult to observe. “At the start of Tuesday’s planning block, write the next decision needed for the hiring plan” is more concrete.
Choose a prompt that already fits the workflow. For example: “Before we close the weekly delivery meeting, we confirm who owns each agreed action.” Make the relevant document easy to find and allow time for the task.
If the action repeatedly fails to happen, examine the workload, timing, tools and competing expectations. A smaller action may help, but it cannot solve every resource or organizational problem. The business bottleneck questions can help widen the discussion.
A weekly review card
Use this simple template instead of treating a streak as the whole measure of success:
- Routine: what action are we testing?
- Opportunities and completions: when was it relevant, and when did it happen?
- Usefulness: did it address the problem we chose?
- Next adjustment: what will we keep, change or stop?
Hypothetical example: a team recorded an owner and review date in three of four relevant meetings. The missed meeting ran out of time, so the team moves the action check earlier in the agenda. This illustrates a review process; it is not client performance data or proof of a productivity gain.
Make appreciation specific, not compulsory
If you want to acknowledge colleagues more thoughtfully, describe the contribution rather than giving generic praise. For example: “Thank you for checking the delivery details and giving the customer a clear next step.”
This is sample wording, not a testimonial. Recognition should be sincere and appropriate to the person. Do not turn it into a quota or assume everyone wants public praise.
A four-week pilot, not a results deadline
One possible pilot is to define a single routine in week one, test it in week two, adjust the friction in week three and review its usefulness in week four. Choose a different pace if the work calls for it.
A completed pilot does not mean the behaviour is automatic or the business outcome has improved. Look separately at completion, quality and the outcome you care about. Other changes in the business may explain the result.
For a team pilot, agree what will be recorded and why. Avoid public individual rankings or recording private information. Use the review to improve the working practice, not to shame people for a missed day.
How coaching can support the experiment
A coaching conversation can help clarify the priority, challenge an assumption or establish a review commitment. Agree the scope rather than expecting a complete system or action plan from a short introductory call.
Explore executive coaching with Joel or book a free 15-minute fit call. Business owners interested in the two-week free coaching offer can complete the assessment and application. Applications are manually reviewed and acceptance is not guaranteed.
