One daily habit that keeps me grounded is writing down the one decision I'm avoiding before the day gets noisy. It takes two minutes. It felt odd at first putting uncertainty on paper. Funny thing is naming it removes half the weight. I don't solve everything, I just choose the next move and set a time limit. That keeps me decisive without pretending I have perfect information. Later, I can review whether the decision held up or needs adjusting. The habit works because it protects my attention. Grounded leadership comes from clarity, not constant certainty, abit imperfect but steady.
Multitasking is a part of every day for most woman entrepreneurs. However, that skill can create a sense of overwhelm and chaos if the right set of habits have not been laid out before hand to support it. Before the day is over, I read positive affirmations that will inspire the next days' work. I then proceed to create a page in my Travelers journal that is beautiful, fun, and motivating. The entry begins with a gratitude affirmation where I thank the Universe for another day and affirm that this day is the best day of my life. The rest of the page will include the 5 major tasks to fulfill that day as well as an inspirational message to myself. This serves as a blueprint for the day that isn't full of every tiny to do. This daily habit of gratitude and planning not only keeps my day in order but allows me to multitask without going off the map I've created for the day.
I start each day with a small community-first check in, a message to a parent, a local group, or a team member about what families are asking for right now, because it keeps me anchored in real needs, not noise. That habit grounds me because it reminds me why we do the work, preventing drowning and building water confidence, and it makes decisions easier because I can filter everything through "does this help our community today?" When your leadership is tied to service, you stay calm, clear, and consistent.
Every day, I practice an "Ethical Audit" when working on my top three goals of that day to help ensure that I'm making decisions related to my goals that are consistent with the fundamental core values of patient integrity and patient safety. In the rapidly changing environment of health care and entrepreneurship, it is easy for entrepreneurs to lose sight of their missions when focusing on growth metrics. Performing this "Ethical Audit" on an ongoing basis keeps me reminded of "why" we do what we do as a company. When I filter my decisions through the lens of an ethical framework, I do not have to second-guess any of my decisions. I know that as long as I choose the most ethical path, I will have the most ethical leadership, even when I am faced with difficult logistical or financial challenges.
Each day I repeat a personal mantra: “I honor this moment as a gift to restore my mind, body, and spirit.” It centers me, helps me step away from stress, and brings the clarity I need to prioritize and make firm decisions.
One habit I develop as a leader every day is to look at the decisions I made during my day both at the beginning and the end of the day in an intentional manner. In the morning, I spend time thinking about which one or two decisions (not necessarily the loudest or most pressing) are going to have a larger ripple effect down the line than others. Specifically, these are the decisions that will shape the momentum of my organization. At the end of my day, I do a quick assessment of my decisions, my delegation decisions, and my deliberate efforts not to make decision at that time. By doing this, I keep myself grounded and avoid making decisions in a reactive manner. By reviewing my key decisions every day, I have the opportunity to be proactive and create a path. Additionally, this practice has increased my ability to make judicious decisions on a regular basis, rather than putting off making a decision. This practice of looking at my daily decisions has increased my clarity and created less confusion for me, and has given me more confidence in my ability to make the best possible decision for my organization and my leadership. Instead of looking at it as "more work", I have learned to look at my leadership practice of identifying the most impactful decisions in my organization on a consistent basis.
Licensed Psychotherapist at Integrated Mental Health Associates
Answered a month ago
Stillness — This is probably the biggest and best leadership tool I have in my toolbox. I've worked it into my daily schedule as protected time to be still and reflective. Very often in the day-to-day of running a business and leading a team, we find ourselves constantly on the go and having to make decisions on the fly to keep the train moving. Having protected time for stillness allows me the time to reflect and focus on what is moving my business forward and what I'm saying yes to. This stillness allows me to be creative, be fully present, and be focused on my why. This also shows my team, in a world of constant access and hustle culture, that stillness is a true flex.
The decisiveness is maintained with one written priority with consequence at the beginning of every day. That practice has made leadership at Santa Cruz Properties real and not a noise. One resolution or result is determined before meetings or messages commence that will significantly impact buyers, cash flow, or clarity in the team in the event that they are managed effectively. All other things come into the background. The practice helps to avoid making urgency look like importance. The constraint is the source of grounding effect. The leadership positions come with unending input, opinions and emotional tug of war. Jotting down the non-negotiable force judgment on the day when one has most energy. It also makes it less likely to second-guess it later since decisions are evaluated against the said priority and not changing moods or pressure. In case of interruptions, it is uncomplicated. Does this have an impact on the priority or not. The habit is effective since it safeguards mind bandwidth. Hard-hitting leaders are not quicker thinkers. They are more decisive with respect to tradeoffs. With time, this field generates confidence within itself since the decisions seem to be coherent and logical. Grounding is not achieved by the doing less. It is a matter of choice on what has weight and respecting the choice over and over even on a loud day.
The decisions are maintained by writing the three non negotiables of the day in the morning. The habit lasts five minutes and occurs on time when inboxes and messages begin to attract attention. At AS Medication Solution, practical implications are involved in the work, and therefore, deadlines should be clear at the beginning of the day to avoid making reactive decisions at the end. The naming of the few that must occur forms a filtering effect on all the requests that come after it. The practice is effective as it helps to decouple urgency and importance. New issues are measured by those priorities rather than by emotion or volume when they present themselves. A thing that fails to propel one of those three onward waits. That one rule will preserve energy and maintain judgment untainted even when the pressure is up. AS Medication Solution preferences follow through and accuracy. Both are strengthened by daily priority setting which makes tradeoffs predetermined instead of ad hoc. Grounded leadership is the knowledge of what has a bearing nowadays and allowing the rest to earn its place.
A short end-of-day decision log is a writing that keeps the leadership on track and moving. At the end of every day, there are three options that are captured in plain language. The note contains the decision made, the information available by the time and what was deliberately not resolved. The habit can be consumed in fewer than five minutes but makes choices grounded in reason and distinctions between decisions that are well-thought and those that are emotional noise. Understanding is achieved through observing trends with time. Repeating similar decisions provides confidence since it can be seen that reasoning has been done before. In the event of variance in the results, learning remains impersonal, not subjective. The record minimizes second guessing the following morning, and eliminates reopening decisions which were already good. The mind is not exhausted with old doubts and is free to use the energy to solve new problems. Days in Mano Santa are characterized by conflicting demands and feelings. The log acts as a quiet anchor. It brings an end to accountability at this day and strengthens the faith in judgment. Courage is enhanced since once decisions have been made, they are taken seriously. Grounded leadership occurs when reflection is both regular and systematic as opposed to a reaction.
The mornings start with a written review of already made decisions instead of a list of things to do. Such a habit plants the day with sanity rather than hurry. The notes concentrate on the reasons why some calls were made or what assumptions they had and what evidence was available at that time. The process of reading those entries is a confidence source and an anti-second-guessing action due to external noise or changed thoughts. The confidence to be decisive is enhanced since the brain is reminded that judgment is not a one time thing. In the event of new information coming up, it is compared with recorded thinking and not emotion. The habit also brings about emotional disconnection with reactive input. When a foundation is built, the feedback, pressure, or the unforeseen problems fall otherwise. In a surveying company, precision relies on the reliance on proven facts as opposed to intuition. The same is true of leadership. Making the decisions based on the written reasoning help to maintain the momentum even on hard days. The ten minutes spent on the practice will save hours of mental power. Consistency leads to confidence and to be consistent, one must remember the reason why decisions were good when they were made.
One of the practices that keep the leadership on track daily is one that involves writing down decisions in advance before taking them. Every morning will have a brief review of one or two options to decide upon and after that a brief note of the facts that exist, the risk of not deciding, and the probable cost of being wrong. Writing down the decision helps one to slow down the emotional noise and it is replaced with clarity. Patterns emerge at a short time. Decisions made in many cases weigh until they are typewritten, and then diminish when the real variables are identified. This tendency is inimitable to reactive leadership. Emergency demands always sound more than the significant ones, particularly in the medical field where individuals seek urgent solutions. Writing requires isolation between urgency and impact. The decisions which can be said to be weighty tend to withstand a few hours of contemplation. Those that are unable to resolve themselves frequently when they become known. Consistency is the source of grounding. The process remains the same regardless of whether it is a small or structural decision. With time, trust builds since the results may be examined fairly. In case a decision succeeds, the rationale is captured. Failure causes the lesson to be seen without judging oneself. Confidence comes as a result when the trust goes off mood to method. The second guessing is replaced by follow through in a straightforward written process.