5 Decisions That Will Change Your Leadership and Your Business

Leadership is about action. Real leaders are not afraid to take risks, make decisions and create ideas. In fact, the effective leader takes action every day to ensure the future success of an organization or a company. As Pablo Picasso is credited with saying, “Action is the foundational key to all success.”

Leaders should consider the actions that they are involved in daily. John C. Maxwell wrote, “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” This statement is true not only of the life of the leader but also of the company that the leader leads. Too many leaders focus on a big decision that they think will change their company or organization, but this writer believes that change comes from taking concrete actions daily.

Here are five concrete actions every leader should take each day:

1. Create Somehow

Leaders should be creators. Leaders have ideas and dreams that they want to be implemented or created. For the leader to influence and inspire others to act, the leader must clearly communicate to their team what they are trying to develop and accomplish. Leaders should always have a new idea or new project that can lead their teams to success. Leaders who think big and have big plans need to create each component of the broader vision every day.

2. Encourage Someone

People need encouragement, and they often look to the leader for inspiration. Leaders who walk next to their people to whisper empowering words into the ears of the followers will always be the leaders who have a larger impact and longer legacy. Each day a leader a would be wise to consider who on their team needs a word of encouragement. In fact, I recently wrote about how CEOs can become the Chief Encouragement Officer of their organization.

3. Go Somewhere

Leaders are not functioning at their highest level unless they are leading someone or doing something. Too many leaders try to lead from their corner office rather than from the front line. Leaders need to be intentional about being out with employees, customers, vendors or peers. When leaders are with people, they become better leaders.

The very act of movement creates momentum in the organization. Activity always creates activity. Leaders need to take the concrete action of visiting others and finding out the real story of what is happening in the organization. Being with employees and customers can be the game-changing action that turns around a company and influences other to help implement the vision or dream of the leader.

4. Grow Somewhat

One concrete action that every leader should do every day is to learn something that will help them become a better leader. Leaders should focus on reading books, attending roundtables or masterminds, hiring a coach or attending retreats and conferences. Business is changing today at a fast pace, and the leader who stops learning falls behind. Growing leaders schedule blocks of time on their calendars every day for learning and personal development.

One technique that many great leaders use is a morning learning routine (MLR). MLRs allow the leader to be intentional about personal learning and self-improvement. This morning routine can be either quick or more extensive based on what a leader is trying to learn. My MLR consists of three 15-minute blocks. One block is for inspirational reading, the second block is for affirmational journalling, and the final block consists of proactive scheduling.

5. Decide Something

Leaders are decision makers and risk takers. When a leader makes excellent decisions, the company will have better results. Leaders should consider and commit to making decisions daily. Great leaders are decisive leaders. Leader design a dynamic direction through their daily decisions. Leaders should take the concrete action of making decisions daily.

The actions of a leader must be concrete and consistent. Every leader should focus on the activities that they are committed to on a daily basis. When a leader commits to these five concrete actions daily, they are on their way to leading a growing and thriving company that produces results and delivers products of substance.