Leadership Insights: The Power of Habits

Dr. Nessie Early led June's First Friday session on the science of habit formation — how habits drive most of our daily decisions and how leaders can use that mechanism intentionally instead of by accident.

Three habits worth building

1. The morning planning ritual. Five minutes at the start of the day, naming the three things that will matter by 5pm. Most ag-business decisions are reactive; a brief planning habit shifts the ratio.

2. The end-of-week reflection. Ten minutes Friday afternoon, naming what worked and what didn't. Compounds dramatically over a year.

3. The team-energy check. A quarterly rhythm where leaders ask their teams what's draining them and what's energizing them — the two questions that surface morale issues before they become turnover issues.

The full session recording is available to alumni in the Learning Modules area.