
Some folks know this, some don’t. But from November 2019 to November 2020 I achieved a milestone that transformed not just my health, but my perspective on leadership. I lost 100 pounds in exactly one year.
My journey literally started one particular day when I walked up the flight of stairs in our house and was winded when I got to the top. I just paused and thought to myself, I have a new granddaughter, and I want to be able to play with her. I love going to Disney and want to be able to walk around the park. Those and so many other things would not happen if I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs. Something had to change. NO. I had to change!
While my journey started as a personal health goal, it revealed powerful parallels to building sustainable leadership practices.
Systems Beat Willpower
I couldn’t just bulldoze my way into dieting and exercise, I needed reliable systems. I used the Carb Manager app to track all my food and got a watch to track my steps. I set a goal of 10,000 steps per day and measured progress religiously.
Similarly, effective leadership isn’t about heroic efforts or natural talent. It’s about creating reliable processes that make success inevitable. Early in my leadership journey, I used to pride myself on having the willpower to solve every crisis. But that quickly made me the bottleneck for so many things.
As I grew, I shifted my focus to building systems that prevent crises from happening. For example, I created a clear decision framework with my engineering team that specified which decisions they could make independently versus which needed guidance or approval – this reduced bottlenecks by letting them move forward confidently on their own. The parallel was stark – just as I needed systems for meal planning and exercise, my teams needed systems for knowledge sharing and decision-making.
Small Changes add up
Another learning – Small changes compound in fascinating ways. Losing 100 pounds didn’t happen overnight – it was the result of countless small decisions made consistently, like daily, over the course of the year.
The same principle applies to leadership transformation. Each time you choose to develop a team member instead of solving the problem yourself, each moment you invest in strategic thinking instead of tactical work, each conversation where you coach instead of direct – these small choices compound into profound leadership impact. I tracked my weight daily, just as I now track my leadership habits and their impact on team performance.
You have to measure to improve
Building sustainable habits means playing the long game. In my weight loss journey, I focused on changes I could maintain for life, not quick fixes. To this day, 5 years latter, I still track my steps and weigh myself every day. Leadership excellence requires the same approach. Instead of trying to transform your leadership style overnight, focus on building one sustainable small habit or practice at a time. Start with something simple – maybe it’s dedicating 30 minutes each day to strategic thinking, just like I started with 10 minutes of daily walking. Then setup a way to track that metric and make sure you’re improving it.
Do you have a leadership metric you are tracking?
Want inspiration to build your own sustainable leadership habits? Download free leadership guides from the menu bar – whether you’re leading technical teams or driving organizational change, I have resources to help you succeed. Ready for a deeper transformation? Whether it’s technical leadership development through 1-1 coaching, team building facilitation, or speaking at your next event, let’s connect and explore how I can help you and your team reach the next level. Message me to learn more.