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10 Daily Work Habits Every Young Leader Should Adopt

Forbes Coaches Council
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Forbes Coaches Council

Everything related to your career is a process, and what you do now will have far-reaching effects on your future. That's why being intentional about your daily work habits is essential, perhaps even more so for young would-be leaders just getting started. No matter what your job title is today, by focusing on the small things, you can hone your leadership skills and put your career on the right track.

Which work habits are most beneficial to cultivate? Below, 10 business and career coaches from Forbes Coaches Council share their recommendations -- and a few words of advice too.

Clockwise from top left: Wendi Weiner, Tina Dietz, Andy Drish, Bill Gardner, Carmen Bolanos, Rey Castellanos, Pat Rigsby, Dave Ursillo, Jen Kelchner and Cha Tekeli.

1. Develop a Definitive Career Plan

Young leaders should create a definitive path or plan that encompasses a timeline of goals in order to properly meet each goal. Young leaders should also identify their interests and best qualities to remain in tune with their skills. This can enable a young leader to recognize how to advance each particular skill and to ensure alignment of  his/her career within the realm of his/her best assets. – Wendi Weiner, JD, NCRW, CPRW, CCMThe Writing Guru

2. Expand Your Circle of Influence

The people who currently surround you and influence you may not be the people who are best positioned to help you develop your leadership potential. Every day, reach beyond your current circle of influence to connect with leaders you admire. This can be through any medium — social media, books, networking events, workshops, mentoring and coaching. Elevate your network to elevate your performance. – Tina DietzStartSomething/Tina Dietz Business Development

3. Create Your "Top Three" Each Moring

The highest leverage activity any leader can do is know their priorities and stick to them.  Each morning, figure out your "top three" goals for the day so you're proactively moving toward them and not getting trapped in "reactive" activities. – Andy DrishThe Foundation

4. Reflect

Establish a habit of reflecting/thinking about what happened, what you did and what you learned as often as possible. No matter how great a leader you become, you will still be learning, and learning comes from reflection. In today's busy work environment, you can get caught up in activity traps and not find time to stop and think. Make time! Write it down or not, but always reflect and learn. – Bill GardnerNoetic Outcomes Consulting, LLC

5. Review and Plan

Take 10 minutes at the end of each day to review and write down the actions you accomplished and plan the actions for the next day. Those few minutes of reflection and planning will allow you to learn about yourself, as well as hit the ground running the following morning. The "mind dump" will also allow you to go home with a clear head and enjoy your free time. – Carmen BolanosCarmen Bolanos Coaching

6. Identify Your Best and Weakest Management Techniques

We all have strengths that energize us and areas where we feel drained. As a leader, it's key to identify these so that you can dwell on your strengths (and not go into overdrive, as your strength will then show up as a weakness) and avoid the things that drain and exhaust you. Leadership is about knowing who you are and allowing others to use their unique strengths to create a well-rounded team. – Cha TekeliChalamode, Inc.

7. Create a Habit of Release

Leaders carry a lot of weight and responsibility for the people or organizations they lead. Creating a "habit of release," whether that is meditation, journaling or something else, will aid in releasing what you are holding from the previous day. Doing this daily creates balance, improves energy management, and will have you fully engaged in the present. – Jen KelchnerKelchner Advisory

8. Be Humble

A young leader's best quality can also be her biggest enemy: being self-motivated. It's what leaders depend upon to get ahead and find positions to help lift others up. But a daily practice in humility will only help to keep a driven young leader grounded and service-minded. Whether yoga, meditation, reading, charity or something else, remember to humble yourself in order to keep your leadership drive pure. – Dave UrsilloLead Without Followers, LLC.

9. Be Grateful

As a leader, your responsibility is to bring out the best in others and this can only be done on a consistent basis if you're also bringing out the best in yourself. By practicing the habit of daily gratitude, you'll find your own perspective transform and you'll be better equipped to empower others to achieve success in whatever they're pursuing. – Pat RigsbyPatRigsby.com

10. Listen Carefully

Listening carefully can be one of the most powerful tools a leader can have. Listening carefully not only allows you to connect more deeply to those you encounter, but it saves time by helping you get to what's most important faster. Start practicing today by listening beyond the words you hear; focus on listening to the emotion and body language for the message they are really trying to convey. – Rey CastellanosFeed Your Wolf