When senior leaders think about improving performance, they often look for sweeping reforms.
It might include new strategies, restructures, and leadership programmes.
But behavioural science tells us something different - big change usually comes from small, consistent habits that stick.
Why habits matter
James Clear’s Atomic Habits popularised the idea that success is built on marginal gains – a series of one per cent improvements that build over time, whether it is a week, a month, or longer.
Over time, tiny changes create remarkable results.
The book outlines a simple framework for behaviour change.
Four laws of behaviour change
- Make it obvious: Put the new behaviour in your line of sight.
- Make it attractive: Link it to something you enjoy.
- Make it easy: Remove friction.
- Make it satisfying: Reward yourself or track progress.
We covered these in more detail during a recent episode of The Sound Leadership Podcast.
In it, Darren Draper, one of our expert leadership training tutors, said: “The first thing is about trying to make a habit obvious. For example, when I spoke about reading and the Kindle, it is right there next to me.
“The second one – and probably the key for me – is to make it attractive. Think about why you are creating that habit and are choosing to do it. You need to understand why you are doing it so you don’t give up after four months.
“And that links to the habit being easy. When I used to go to the gym, I had to drive for 15 to 20 minutes, get changed, then 30 to 45 minutes of exercise, and then the same journey home.
“I spent as long coming and going as I did in the gym. When I moved house, I put some fitness equipment in the garage, and now all I need to do is walk to the garage. The things stopping me from doing it have been pushed out of the way.
“The final part is making it satisfying. What is your reward?”
You can listen to that episode here.
Habit stacking for leaders
What’s habit stacking?
Well, it is one of the easiest ways to build new habits.
It is a technique where you add a new habit to an existing, well-established one.
For example, it could be that after your Monday team call, you ask one coaching-style question.
Or that after you check your emails at the start of the day, you block out 30 minutes for deep work.
During the same episode of The Sound Leadership Podcast, Dan Boniface, our head of training, shared a habit stacking example from his coaching.
He said: “I was coaching someone, and they wanted to get more engagement with their team.
“Through the coaching, she came up with this idea that instead of saying hello to each team member in the morning, she would spend two minutes talking to each person.
“So, the first 20 minutes of a day were taken up with talking to her team. And the impact was huge. Suddenly, she was very approachable and visible and was there for her team.
“The knock-on impact is productivity has gone up, and she spends less time answering questions later in the day.
“It’s what we call habit stacking. The habit was saying hello each morning, and the stack on to that is spending time with each team member.”
The 30-day leadership challenge
Let’s pull this advice together into a simple habit-building plan.
For senior managers and directors, here’s a simple plan:
Week 1: Daily reflection - “What went well? What’s one thing to change?”
Week 2: One coaching question per conversation.
Week 3: 15 minutes of undisturbed “thinking time” daily.
Week 4: One act of recognition or appreciation each day.
How does that sound?
Inspiration
Need a little more inspiration around the impact of building habits?
Here are a few success stories:
Siemens UK: Leaders introduced “micro-habits”, like starting meetings with one appreciative comment. It boosted engagement scores within three months.
Unilever: Habit-based wellbeing routines (such as short mindfulness practices) cascaded from senior leaders, improving resilience during the pandemic.
British Cycling: Sir Dave Brailsford’s “marginal gains” philosophy turned British Cycling into Olympic champions. The same principle works for leadership.
Your first next step?
Pick one habit and pair it with something you already do.
Don’t try to change ten things at once. Consistency beats intensity.
Final thought
Leadership isn’t built in away-days or strategy documents.
It’s built in daily habits.
If you want to shape culture, start with what you do every day.
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