The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Leaders

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Gaurav Jain December 30, 2024

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What traits come to mind when you think of great leaders?

You’re probably thinking: visionary, charismatic, assertive, or smart.

While all those traits are nice to have, the habits that set the most effective leaders apart
from the rest — the ones that matter — are often the most counterintuitive, surprising,
yet incredibly inspiring.

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, famously said:

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the
square holes… the ones who see things differently.”

These leaders are a cut above the rest. They are different, in a good way. Their habits are
unconventional, and these habits take them from being good leaders to great leaders.

Allow me to indulge you for the next few minutes, as we discuss the 7 Counterintuitive
Habits of Highly Effective Leaders.

Habit #1. Embrace Failure

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Just look around you.

Observe the people walking briskly down the streets, those who are frantically speeding
away in their cars, or those who are (im)patiently lining up at the local Starbucks.
Everyone seems to be chasing one thing, and one thing alone.

Success.

Over the last 100 years, with the rise of capitalist economies, success has become
synonymous with high status and well-being, while failure has earned a negative
reputation that people want to stay away from.

Don’t get me wrong. Success is not a bad thing. In fact, the most effective leaders chase
success too. The difference, however, is that they see failure as a stepping stone to
success.

They understand that failure is an inevitable part of the journey to growth and success. In
I discussed how failure is inevitable, and the sooner you embrace that reality, the better.

Consider Steve Jobs: he was well-known for his willingness to take risks and learn from
failure. He faced setbacks early in his career, and even got ousted from his own company.

But those setbacks didn’t set him back.

They only propelled him further forward, with a renewed resolve, energy, and several new
lessons under his belt. He ultimately persevered and revolutionized multiple industries
with innovative products — including the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone.

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Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, and now the owner of Twitter (X), famously
said:

“Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
— Elon Musk

The hallmark of a highly effective leader is that they encourage risk-taking, and
experimentation, and create a culture where failure is celebrated as a valuable learning
experience.

Habit #2. Be Authentic

Have you watched the TV series ?

While the series is meant to be a fictional (and should I say, hilarious) comedy
representation of everyday management and office work, it does highlight some key
elements of the traditional association of managers at work. Michael Scott, the manager,
“puts on a show” of a tough manager who knows how to get work done. Michael has his
vulnerabilities and weaknesses, but he tries really hard to hide them from his team.

Traditionally, leaders were associated with traits like strength, assertiveness, and
dominance, who would use command-and-control approaches to get stuff done.

However, (and thankfully!) the archetype of a leader has evolved.

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Highly effective leaders today are those who embrace vulnerability and authenticity. They
are comfortable with their true selves, including their strengths, weaknesses, and
insecurities. They recognize the importance of connecting with people on a human level,
rather than hiding behind a fake mask (or a podium for that matter).

Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, transformed the company into a global
brand by staying true to . Schultz’s authenticity resonated with both employees and
customers, fostering a culture of trust and loyalty within the organization.

“Authentic leadership is revealed in the alignment of what you think, what you say,
and what you do.” — Michael Holland

Highly effective leaders are unapologetically themselves. They lead with authenticity,
openly sharing their values, beliefs, and vulnerabilities.

Habit #3. Ignore Selectively

We live in an information-saturated world today.

There is an overwhelming amount of data, countless distractions, and competing priorities

vying for our attention.

It is not humanly possible for us to catch every ball thrown at us.

Leaders who fail to discern what truly matters from the massive onslaught of information
can get overwhelmed, and end up burning out themselves and their teams, while still not
delivering the results.

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Effective leaders understand how to distinguish the signal from the noise, and the
importance of selective ignorance.

They weight the urgent vs the important, and commit their time to tasks that will yield the
highest and most meaningful results. They keep their teams focused, and actively remove
distractions and cut out things that are not strategically important.

“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” — Steve Jobs

In my article , I discuss the Impact-Effort matrix, which is an excellent framework you can
use to determine what is truly important.

Indra Nooyi, during her tenure as CEO of PepsiCo, implemented a strategy called , which
involved prioritizing healthier products, sustainability initiatives, and investing in emerging
markets. This intentional strategic focus helped PepsiCo emerge strong during her tenure
as CEO.

Highly effective leaders are masters at selective ignorance, which helps them to drive
productivity and efficiency in their organizations.

Habit #4. Embrace Imperfection

Imagine what would happen if your team spent 6 months building a “perfect product” that
nobody wanted.

There was a time when perfection was seen as a symbol of power and legitimacy,
reinforcing the leader’s position at the top of the hierarchy.

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And leaders themselves started expecting nothing less of their teams.

However, the world is a different place today.

In my article , I discuss the importance of reflecting and retrospecting on your day, as

there is always scope for improvement.

Leaders need to adopt a mindset of continuous delivery and experimentation, and be

willing to take calculated risks.

Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta (Facebook), advocates for embracing imperfection
in her book . In the book, Sandberg emphasizes the importance of finding strength in
vulnerability, both in personal and professional contexts.

“Embracing our imperfection puts the emphasis back where it should be: continual
improvement.” — Ryder Carroll

Highly effective leaders embrace imperfection, and they are obsessed with innovation
through rapid experimentation and adaptation.

Habit #5. Be Transparent

The corporate world today is filled with corporate jargon and ambiguous words. It is
widely believed that using wishy-washy, abstract terms and corporate jargon can make
you sound smart, intelligent, and “senior”.

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The reality is that many leaders do this to mask (or sugarcoat) a difficult message, or to
avoid taking accountability for what they are saying. In my article , I discuss how you can
quickly lose trust of your team if you avoid sharing directly, honest feedback.

Highly effective leaders, on the other hand, prioritize open and honest communication,
even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient.

Kim Scott, a former executive at Google and Apple, wrote a book on , where she
emphasizes the importance of caring personally while challenging directly. (I also discuss
this framework in my book .)

As another example, Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, advocates for
radical transparency within his company where employees are encouraged to speak
openly about their opinions and concerns. He discusses this at length in his best-selling
book .

Jeff Bezos, the founder and former CEO of [Link], is known for his “door desk”
meetings, where he sits at a makeshift desk made from a wooden door to encourage
accessibility and transparency.

By practicing transparency, leaders foster a culture of continuous improvement, where

feedback is viewed as a gift rather than a threat.

Highly effective leaders believe in

Habit #6. Cultivate Empathy

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In a fast-paced world, leaders are inundated with competitive threats and opportunities.

These forces can make them obsessed with achievement and results.

They end up promoting a hustle culture, and ignoring their own and their team’s physical,
mental, and emotional well-being.

However, effective leaders recognize that well-being is not a luxury, but a necessity for
sustained success and resilience.

They recognize that they need to take care of themselves first, before they can take care
of their teams.

Thus, self-care goes hand-in-hand with empathy.

Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of The Huffington Post, famously collapsed from
exhaustion in 2007. This incident made her realize the importance of sleep and
mindfulness, and she later became a strong promoter of well-being in the workplace.

Doug Conant, the former CEO of Campbell Soup Company, is renowned for his
commitment to gratitude. He to his employees during his tenure.

In my article , I discuss how great leaders focus on developing their people first before
expecting results.

“Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect
with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.” — Oprah
Winfrey

Highly effective leaders foster a culture of empathy and gratitude with their organizations,
while not neglecting their own well-being.

Habit #7. Embrace Change

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Only 1 out of 10 things around you today will remain the same in 5 years.

That’s the speed at which the world is changing.

Leaders who do not embrace change are bound to fall behind, as they risk becoming
obsolete and losing relevance.

A striking example (and a popular MBA case study) of the consequences of failing to
embrace change is Kodak. Despite being a pioneer in digital photography research,
Kodak failed to capitalize on its innovations due to a reluctance to shift away from its film-
based business model. While Kodak’s digital camera technology could have positioned it
as a leader in the digital age, the leadership’s hesitation to embrace change ultimately led
to its downfall.

Leaders who embrace change allow themselves to stay agile and innovative, and position
their organizations for long-term success.

In my article about the , I discuss the importance of adapting your strategy as a principle
for chess masters, just like it is for great leaders.

Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, led the company’s transformation from a DVD rental
service to a streaming platform. Hastings has consistently emphasized the importance of
embracing change and adapting to the changing landscape, and Netflix has continued to
evolve and stay relevant as a company.

“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous in the end.” — Robin Sharma

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Highly effective leaders embrace change, and continue to evolve their organizations to
stay relevant and competitive.

In Summary: The 7 Habits

When we think about the most effective leaders, we often think of traits such as visionary,
charismatic, and assertive.

However, the reality is that the most effective leaders share some unique traits that are
not as obvious, and may even come across as unconventional or surprising to many.

In this article, we discussed the 7 counterintuitive habits of highly effective leaders:

1. Highly effective leaders as a valuable learning experience. They see .

2. Highly effective leaders are . They lead with , openly sharing their .
3. Highly effective leaders are , which helps them to drive productivity and efficiency in
their organizations.
4. Highly effective leaders , and they are obsessed with .
5. Highly effective leaders believe in .
6. Highly effective leaders with their organizations, .
7. Highly effective leaders , and continue to evolve their organizations to stay and .

These leaders are different. Their habits are counterintuitive, surprising, yet inspiring.

And that’s precisely what makes them highly effective.

Recommended Resources
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 : How you can be kind and clear at the same time when delivering feedback.
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