The modern leader must be an agile learner, navigating a landscape defined by rapid technological change, evolving employee expectations, and complex global challenges.
Effective leadership in this era hinges on a dual commitment: the strategic adoption of new habits and the resolute abandonment of practices that no longer serve.
Such intentional shifts profoundly impact team performance, shape organizational ethos, and drive business success.
This piece explores the specific habits that prominent business executives and HR experts have chosen to leave behind, and the new ones they have deliberately integrated.
Synthesizing their valuable insights, it provides a practical strategic guide for thought leaders and authorities aiming to sharpen their leadership edge and foster tangible change across their organizations.
Read on!
Gearl Loden
Leadership Consultant & Speaker, lodenleadership
Gearl Loden
I Stopped Overfunctioning—And Started Multiplying Leaders
In recent years, I made a pivotal shift: I consciously dropped the habit of over-functioning, that ingrained tendency to rescue, over-direct, or shield others from failure. As a longtime superintendent and executive coach, I often found myself stepping in too soon or carrying more than was mine to hold. While well-intentioned, that habit subtly stifled ownership, growth, and initiative in others.
What I intentionally adopted instead was a leadership habit I now coach others to embrace: clarity over control. Rather than micromanage, I now co-create expectations, define success criteria, and build strong feedback loops. I then step back and let others lead. This shift demanded trust, courage, and restraint, but it transformed the way I lead.
The impact has been both cultural and operational. This shift flattened our organizational structure, harnessed the full capacity of our team, and has led to significantly higher-quality feedback across all levels. It made us more agile, more aligned, and more confident in taking calculated risks during times of change.
It also gave me the margin to develop my team intentionally, invest in leadership pipelines, and deepen my focus on what truly matters—building people, setting vision, and fostering a culture of growth.
Experiencing the power of this shift firsthand has made me a stronger leader, a more intentional mentor, and a more effective coach. I’ve lived the transformation and I now enjoy helping other leaders to do the same.
It’s not about doing more, it’s about leading differently. When you stop over functioning, you help others to develop their full potential. And when leaders rise together, so does the entire organization.
We’ve seen a marked improvement in the timeliness and quality of feedback, which has led to better conversations, stronger alignment, and clearer expectations.
It has also allowed us to monitor progress more effectively and adjust in real time, rather than waiting for problems to escalate. That responsiveness has enhanced both performance and morale across the board. And most importantly, it has created a culture where growth isn’t just expected, now it’s supported and shared.
Letting go of over functioning wasn’t just a shift in habit, it was a return to purpose. And that clarity has been one of the most powerful leadership moves I’ve ever made.
Mike Khorev
SEO Consultant, Mike Khorev
Mike Khorev
A few years back, I ditched the habit of doing everything myself. I thought delegating would slow things down. Turns out, I was the bottleneck. Once I stepped back and gave my team real ownership, productivity shot up, and so did morale.
The habit I picked up? Listening. Not just nodding along, but actually tuning in without jumping to solve things. It made my team feel heard, and the insights I gained saved us from some nasty pitfalls.
Funny thing: I used to think leadership meant having all the answers. Turns out, it’s more about asking the right questions and knowing when to shut up. Swapping control for trust was uncomfortable at first, but it paid off in loyalty, better decisions, and fewer late-night Slack marathons. Lesson learned: being a good leader means stepping aside just enough to let others shine.
Alex Saiko
CEO & Co-founder, MiraSpaces
Alex Saiko
I have intentionally stopped micromanaging in the last couple of years. When I started, I believed that everybody had to be part of every small detail so that everything could go smoothly, but in the end, it was hurting the group instead. Not only was it tiring me, but it was wearing them out as well.
Making a move back and trusting my team to be more autonomous, I started to see real change; everyone was more engaged and confident, and we managed to get things done quicker. That is all a matter of trust, and I have discovered that it pays to give people a chance to shine.
Conversely, I made a deliberate decision to put an increased emphasis on empathetic communication. I have always been rather straightforward, but I noticed that I could listen more and be a little bit more empathetic, and the difference was enormous.
I now took more time to know the issues my team members were going through and support them instead of merely providing feedback or instructions. The result? Better connections, clearer communication, and a group of people who feel that you listen to them and take them seriously. It is surprising how, with a small increase in empathy, the group dynamic can be changed.
Finally, releasing the temptation to micromanage and adopting empathy in my leadership approach has had an enormous effect not only on my style but also on the entire success of our team.
Seamus Nally
One habit I’ve gotten rid of is having a more directive approach to leadership and instead have adopted a more motivational approach. What I mean by that is that my leadership style no longer consists of primarily just telling people what to do, day in and day out.
Of course that’s not something any leader can entirely stop doing, but now I try to give my team a lot more independence and use my role to inspire and motivate them to succeed. It gives them more space to be creative and try new things.
Lisa Clark
Director, Bell Fire and Security
Lisa Clark
I stopped jumping into fixing every problem.
Early on, I saw fast action as strong leadership. If a job ran late or a part didn’t arrive, I stepped in. I made the call, booked the supplier, and rearranged the diary. It worked short-term but created dependency. The team waited for me to fix things instead of solving them.
I replaced that habit with structured accountability. Now, I ask questions instead of giving answers. What’s the issue? What are your options? What’s your next move? It slowed things down at first, but the shift was clear. One engineer built a new van stock checklist after missing a callout due to a missing part.
Another flagged repeated delays with a supplier, leading us to switch to one with a faster turnaround. These solutions came from them, not me.
The result: fewer reactive decisions. Fewer repeat mistakes. More ownership across the team. My time is now spent improving systems, not plugging gaps. The team moves efficiently, takes ownership of decisions, and delivers without constant oversight.
Leadership isn’t about issuing instructions. It’s about developing people who act independently and solve problems. Stepping back doesn’t lower standards, it sets the bar higher.
Pepe Nieto
General Manager, Cannons Marina
Pepe Nieto
I ceased to approve every decision myself.
I once thought leadership was having the last say about all decisions. I looked over a lot of requests and signed off on several plans. It created delays and frustration. The team held me back instead of progressing. I was a bottleneck.
I began to empower individuals to make choices within their work. I provided guidelines and relied on their judgments. When problems arose, I gave counsel rather than commands. This change increased efficiency and enabled work to progress faster.
I also initiated frequent team briefings rather than frequent check-ins. This kept me abreast of situations without hindering progress. I focused on removing blockers instead of handling every detail.
Leadership means helping your team take action and keeping everyone focused on the key priorities.
Michael Yerardi
Founder & CEO, Turning Point Home Buyers
Michael Yerardi
In recent years, many leaders have consciously dropped the habit of micromanaging, recognizing that it stifles creativity and autonomy. Instead, they’ve adopted a habit of empowering their teams through trust and delegation.
By stepping back and allowing team members to take ownership of their work, leaders have seen increased innovation, higher employee engagement, and improved morale. This shift often results in a more collaborative and productive work environment, where individuals feel valued and motivated to contribute.
The direct outcome is not only better team performance but also stronger relationships built on mutual respect and confidence in each other’s abilities.
Natalie Michael
Managing Partner, CEO Next Chapter
Natalie Michael
I consciously dropped the habit of micromanaging in recent years because I realized that this habit not only drained my energy but also negatively impacted creativity and autonomy within my team. Letting go of this habit allowed me to focus more on the strategic aspects of my role while empowering my team to prove their abilities.
This result, I noticed a higher employee engagement and more ownership across the board, which translated into more innovative solutions and better collaboration among the team.
I filled the gap created by this habit by adopting the habit of purposeful engagement. Instead of dedicating my energy to the day-to-day minutiae, I now focus more on developing deeper connections with my teammates, aligning them with the company’s mission, & giving them room to grow.
This shift led to clearer communications and a more aligned, motivated team, which has significantly enhanced the overall productivity and morale.
David Chen
VP & CTO, DataNumen
David Chen
One Leadership Habit I Dropped: Pursuing Perfection at All Costs
As CTO of DataNumen, a data recovery software company, I consciously dropped the habit of pursuing absolute perfection in every project. In the data recovery industry, where customers are often dealing with critical data loss situations, I used to believe that our software needed to be flawless before release.
One Leadership Habit I Adopted: Embracing the 99% Rule
Instead, I intentionally adopted allowing for a controlled degree of imperfection in our initial releases. Through continuous practice, I discovered that when a project reaches 99% completion, pursuing that final 1% of perfection often costs more than the entire 99% that came before it – and frequently isn’t necessary for customer success.
The Direct Outcome: This shift transformed our development process and business outcomes significantly. By allowing for controlled imperfection, we: Improved our time-to-market by 40%, getting critical data recovery tools to customers faster when they need them most. Increased team efficiency and reduced developer burnout from endless perfectionism cycles.
Created space for continuous improvement based on real user feedback rather than theoretical perfection. Enhanced customer satisfaction because they received functional solutions sooner, with iterative improvements following.
In data recovery, where every hour counts for our customers, this approach means we can deliver working solutions that recover 99% of lost data immediately, rather than making customers wait months for a theoretically perfect tool. The remaining 1% of edge cases can be addressed in subsequent updates based on actual user scenarios.
This leadership evolution taught me that in technology, “perfect” is often the enemy of “efficient and timely.”
The HR Spotlight team thanks these industry leaders for offering their expertise and experience and sharing these insights.
Do you wish to contribute to the next HR Spotlight article? Or is there an insight or idea you’d like to share with readers across the globe?
Write to us at connect@HRSpotlight.com, and our team will help you share your insights.
