I recently came across a video message from author and self-help guru Tony Robbins. I’m a Tony Robbins fan and thought this particular message was one of my favorites. I listen to it, no exaggeration, at least 20 times. I decided to move on from it and came across a different media sharing inspirational content. It so happened to be the same message I was listening to before by Tony. I chuckled but kept listening to it again. I really did like it and it resonated with me. Naturally I started thinking about ways to apply the principles in my personal life with relationships, health, and finances. Then it hit that this can be applied to just about anything especially developing good leadership routines and rituals. 

Tony Robbins process for transformation and building lasting change:

  1. Where are You? Think about the area of your life you want to improve and write down what your life is like in that area as specially as possible
  2. How did you get there? – Consider what are the rituals and habits that put you there and write them down.
  3. Where do you want to be? – Write out your vision for what you want to accomplish. In detail, describe what your want that area of life to be.
  4. How do you get there? – Determine the rituals and routines you need to make a habit and get you to your desired state of being.

Of course, this process has reasoning behind it. The simple water downed version is we as human live up to what we must do and not always what we should do. We default to our programming—our habits, rituals, and routines. To change our output, we must change our programming. Programming being our habits and rituals.

Good Leadership Rituals

Now to address the question that brought you here: What are good leadership rituals?  

In all fairness, that depends on you, where you are in your leadership skill and talent, and where you want to progress with your development as a leader. If you are feeling disappointed right now, don’t be. Ultimately you are the only one who can decide what’s best for you and all outside references are just suggestions you can chose to accept or decline. 

Good news though, here is an example of how you can build out and implement your good leadership rituals…

Many of you are visiting the Novice Leader site because you are a newer leader. I’ve been a leader for many years and I still feel like there is more learning and growing I need to do than there is time to do it. Thinking back to my younger leader years, I had many hiccups in getting team buy-in and gaining my team’s trust. Tony’s process could have helped me develop good leadership rituals around my team engagement. 

Here’s how I could have implemented Tony Robbin’s process for gaining team trust and buy-in:

Where am I?

I’m new in my position as a leader. I don’t have much experience and it shows to my team. I’m very young too and some employees have express dissatisfaction about taking direction for a “kid.” The employees do what I ask only because I have the title and the effort and quality of work is minimal.

How did I get here?

If I am honest, I know I got the manager job because I worked hard and I was dependable. I worked whenever they needed and never called out for a shift.  The promotion gave me a sense of confidence and accomplish that comes off as be arrogant and egotistical.

My rituals were

    • Didn’t communicate the vision our team purpose
    • Micro-managed the team because fear of mistakes and believing I could do it better.
    • Didn’t take time to stop and get to know my team and why they were there
    • I would not take the time to get input and feedback from the team.
    • Did not take the time to consistently recognize the team.

Where do I want to be?

I want to be

  • A trusted leader.
  • My team to trust my direction and guidance and feel comfortable enough to come to me if they do not.
  • Be the type of leader that the team would run through a brick wall if I asked.
  • Lead the team to accomplish more than what is ask of us.
  • I want my team to have high morale and feel valued as a member.

How do I get there?

    • Continually explain the why to my team and not just blurt out commands
    • Allow my team to do their work, make mistakes, and learn from their mistakes
    • Value knowing my team beyond just their work responsibilities and take time to engage with them about them.
    • Constantly seek feedback and input from my team- does not mean I always following it but it does show I value their perspectives.
    • Look for any opportunities to recognize my team’s accomplishments and highlight their contributions.
    • (Mentally start each phrase with as “I must.” Tony comments that we don’t always get our “shoulds” be we always get our “musts.”  

Take Action and Build Your Good Leadership Rituals

This exercise could have gone countless number of directions. In my opinion, I don’t think there is a wrong way to do it. You many need to add more detail or tweak it based on what is working and what is not. The key principle here is going through the steps and developing the programming you want to get the good leadership rituals you desire. 

Final thought I want to share is around the 4th step of determining the rituals you need to make habit to get to the place you want to be. If you have never been somewhere, it can be hard to determine how to get there. That may mean doing research and finding rituals from those that are exhibiting the leadership skills you want to develop. That may mean finding a mentor to help coach you. It could be reading biographies and leadership book from leaders whom you aspire to be like. It could be more extensive such as taking leadership courses and certifications.

If you found this article helpful, check out 4 Mistakes New Leaders Make on the Novice Leader site as well as our other blog posts.

Likewise, be sure to visit and subscribe to the Novice Leader YouTube channel and join the Novice Leader community to stay connected. As our community grows, we will bring you more content and resources to help support your leadership development…

And don’t forget- You ARE the Leader You Choose to Be!

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