8 Habits of Great Leaders
The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
As mentioned in a previous post, Craig Groeschel is an entrepreneur, a pastor, an NYT best-selling author & a leadership expert. For more information regarding Craig Groeschel and his background, please refer to the previously linked post! This podcast review is actually over a two-part series from the Craig Groeschel leadership podcasts which discusses the 8 habits that great leaders tend to have. There is a reason I said that great leaders tend to have these habits because it is not an absolute prerequisite to master all of these habits. In fact, in this podcast, Craig says that you will hardly ever see any great leaders that have mastered all of these habits, but you will very rarely see a great leader who has not mastered several of these habits. Although this podcast says that these are 8 habits of great leaders, I don’t think you necessarily have to be a leader to implement all of these habits. I believe these habits are not only habits of great leaders but also 8 habits of highly productive people. The 8 habits of great leaders, according to Craig Groeschel, are listed and discussed below.
The habit of no-snooze. This one is fairly straightforward in context, but the meaning behind it is a little deeper than surface level. When discussing this habit, it is fairly clear that Craig is literally saying to wake up early and not hit the snooze button. But the main reason for this isn’t that every successful person wakes up early, it is for a reason that I have discussed several times – specifically in my post about making your bed in the morning. By waking up and not hitting snooze, you are reminding yourself that how you start your day matters. By not hitting the snooze button, you are showcasing the fact that you control your day and that your day does not control you. Like I mentioned in my post, doing something seemingly difficult first thing in the morning – like not hitting snooze or making your bed – starts your day off with a victory. You are setting your tone for the day. Once the first ‘win’ comes, the following unwanted tasks don’t seem as difficult. Wake up and don’t hit snooze, make your bed, and attack your day.
The habit of pre-deciding. This habit is related to a topic I have discussed in a recent post surrounding decision fatigue and setting yourself up for success in the near future. The main gist of this habit is that good leaders and highly productive people make as many decisions as they can ahead of time, so their mind is clear and ready for any decisions that may arise. One strategy for pre-deciding is to automate as many decisions in your day as possible so that you don’t waste any time or effort on seemingly meaningless tasks. Craig says that a successful day oftentimes starts on the night before – and he couldn’t be more right. Set your priorities for the next day the night before so that you get those things done without thinking. Limit decision fatigue, automate the minuscule tasks, and free yourself up for the important decisions.
The habit of doing the hard right. In life, everyone will face challenges. When you face these challenges, there are often two options – the easy option and the hard option. When you come to these crossroads, don’t ask yourself what is easy – ask yourself what is right. Great leaders and highly productive people know how to make tough decisions even when it isn’t easy. The easy decisions may seem like the right move in the short term, but we like to play the long game. Craig mentions another way to think about it for spiritual listeners: do what’s right and trust God with the results.
The habit of ‘you-first’ leadership. For most leaders, this is a fairly tough one because the natural trajectory of leadership is inward and toward one’s self. This is because most highly productive people and great leaders are extremely confident and have reached the level they are because they know how to put their heads down and dial in on a task. This may be fine for a highly productive person, but not so much for a great leader. In order to lead others… in order to motivate a group of people to work with you… you have to put them first. One quote I liked from this podcast was that “the leaders who get the most out of their people are the ones that care the most about their people”. It is the leader’s job to cultivate an environment and culture where this is easy. People will work for a paycheck, but people will give their heart to someone that cares. Some leaders make you feel like they are important, great leaders make you feel like you are important. Learn to put others first, learn to prioritize your team, and become a ‘you-first’ leader.
The habit of touching the line. This one can come off as a little corny, but the meaning is air-tight. If you grew up playing sports, you inevitably ran suicides at one point in your childhood. This is a conditioning drill where you run a certain distance, touch a line, and run back. Then you run a further distance, touch another line, run back, and repeat. If you did these you also inevitably heard the famous coach quote “If you cheat the drill, you will cheat in life”. I hated that quote as a kid, but the older I get the more it makes sense. If you condition yourself to perform “close enough” in the little things… if you condition yourself to cut the corners in the details, you will cut corners in the big picture. Don’t stop when you’re tired, stop when you’re finished. Stop whenever you reach the line. Learn to set your own lines, set your own goals, and don’t stop at “close enough”. Touch the line during the little things, and you will continue to touch the line in the bigger things.
The habit of one more rep. This phrase has been pretty popular recently mainly due to Ed Mylett’s book titled ‘One More Rep’. The inspiration behind Ed’s book was his father who was an alcoholic that became sober by continuously telling himself he only had to make it ‘one more day’ every day. This is based on the premise that looking at big challenges, such as overcoming alcoholism, can be extremely challenging but if you break it down into smaller, more obtainable goals the end goal seems much more feasible. In addition to this meaning of ‘one more rep’, Craig dials in an additional meaning of the phrase which essentially describes the importance of doing more than the bare minimum and doing more than is expected of you. Learn to stand out. One of my favorite quotes from the podcast is in relation to Craig’s story of a waitress at a local restaurant that impressed him because she did more than the bare minimum for them. Craig says ‘When a business meets your expectations, you become a customer. When a business exceeds your expectations, you become an ambassador”. Learn to do more than what is expected of you in all areas of life. The more you exceed expectations, the more ambassadors you will create.
The habit of fueling the fire. Although it was previously mentioned that to be a good leader you have to be able to inspire others, you must also be able to effectively inspire yourself. It is hard, if not impossible, to light a fire in others when the light inside of you is dimmed. This habit is not only for leaders who need to inspire others but also for high performers that are looking to perform at a high level on a daily basis. Most people who are reading this have heard people discuss the difference between motivation and inspiration. Motivation is external, motivation comes and goes. Inspiration is internal. Motivation pushes you; inspiration pulls you. One of my favorite quotes from this podcast is “If you light yourself on fire with passion, people will travel for miles to watch you burn”. Find what inspires you, and make sure you continue to feed it.
The habit of showing back up. This is possibly the most important habit of all those mentioned, and it is one that is possessed by nearly all successful leaders and high-performing people. Everyone has goals, everyone has ambitions. Everyone will also hit the opposition. Like I have mentioned in a post before, sometimes you will drive through the mud for an extensive period of time. You will lose confidence in yourself and your vision. What separates good leaders from great leaders is resilience & grit. Grit is the strength of a character that refuses to quit. The habit of showing back up is simply knowing that sometimes you will not have your best, sometimes things will not be going your way, but that if you refuse to give up and you continue to drive through the mud, one day the weather will clear. One powerful quote from this podcast is ‘enthusiasm is common, but endurance is rare’. Anyone can get excited and motivated to start on a journey, but to be a great leader and/or a high performer, you have to learn to drive through the mud and show up after your worst days. Learn to show back up.
As mentioned before, it is not a prerequisite for great leadership for you to master all of these habits. Some of these habits may come easier than others, and those of which that come easy may differ between leaders. The main point of this post, and of these podcast episodes, is to discuss all of the essential habits that will help shape you into not only a great leader, but a high-performing individual in general. Pick out a few that may come easier to you, work on mastering them, and then when you have a good grasp on those few, look into building up a few more. Work on developing these habits and watch how your life changes.
