What is your definition of a very successful manager? Many people would say it is someone who helps others reach their goals, leads his or her team to success, and is promoted as often as he or she likes. Since leaders are made, not born, anyone can become this type of manager if they are willing to adopt some success-promoting habits.
3 Mini-Habits of Extremely Successful Managers
Who says personal change has to be difficult? Implementing new habits always takes some effort, but if they are ‘mini-habits’, the effort is much less rigorous. Thankfully, the payoff is still significant. Here are a few examples of mini-habits that make ordinary managers extraordinary:
1) Immediately respond to emails — Have you ever received an email, scanned it, and put it in your “answer later” mental space? We all have. The fact is that it’s way easier to procrastinate than to take care of an email immediately. Managers tend to receive many more emails than someone in a non-management position, and therefore are bombarded with emails all day. The best plan of action is to set apart two or three blocks of time each day to answer emails. Putting them off will only cause stress.
2) Don’t check your emails first thing — Speaking of email-related habits, don’t check your inbox upon waking. Recruiter.com said reviewing your inbox first thing “is exactly the wrong place to start your day if you want to increase your productivity and reduce stress. Instead, take 90 seconds at the start of your day to review your calendar first, followed by your to-do lists. This 90-second habit allows you to focus on the right tasks rather than falling into the chaos of being driven by emails that you convince yourself are urgent.” This mini-habit keeps you from constantly reacting to others’ requests and problems, and helps you complete the most important tasks of your day.
3) Organize your office every day — At the end of a workday, the last thing anyone wants to do is spend time organizing and tidying up. But, that’s exactly what highly effective managers do. Taking 15 minutes or so to clean things up and making a quick to-do list for tomorrow sets you up for success. It ensures you walk into a functional, low-stress atmosphere each day, and that is well worth a few minutes of extra effort.
The Secret to Success is Changing Your Daily Routine/Habits
Bestselling author John Maxwell said, “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” For managers who want to become highly successful, the secret to success is building mini-habits that have maximum impact. These habits include but are not limited to:
- Responding to emails immediately
- Reviewing to-do lists, not emails, first thing
- Organizing your office every day
What mini-habits have made you an exemplary manager? What habits have managers you looked up to in the past had?
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