To be an effective leader, you need to have good habits of mind and action. Today I am focusing on habits of action. I will share steps you can take to help create focus, energy, and momentum in your role as a leader. 

You are faced with an amazing amount of information coming at you each day. However, you have to find ways to cut through all of the noise and requests coming from a myriad of sources. How do you plan, organize, and execute your day?

4 Keys Leading You Towards Progress

Using these key ideas will help you manage your days effectively.

1. Devise a plan of action.

   1. Make a list of your top five projects.

   2. List and schedule three actions to help these projects progress.

2. Considering these projects, who can help you move these forward?

   1. Have effective conversations with these people, following the 4 C’s of Effective Conversation: clarity, candor, commitment, and completion.

   2. Be fully present in these conversations, listening intently to what others are saying, and hold these conversations in safe spaces where people feel free to speak openly without being judged.

3. Which meetings do you need to hold to accomplish your goals?

   1. Ask yourself if you should be going to a meeting, and if so, what is the agenda?

   2. What conversations need to happen in the meeting?

   3. If the meeting is for making a decision, how will it be made?

4. Do an end-of-week wrap-up or review. Review the action plan with your team and ask the following questions:

   1. What was supposed to happen?

   2. What actually happened? Listen to everyone openly.

   3. What did you learn? Focus on improving, not blaming.

   4. What should be done differently next time?

As you work to develop your role as a leader, these are four key ideas to help you create good habits of action to move through your days and toward your goals. 

Information comes at you quickly. It is important to take time to plan your projects, talk, and coordinate with other key players who can move these goals forward. Finally, always take the time to review how things went so you can learn from these experiences.