The Electric Power of Insight-Infused Habits and Training
by Christine N. Lee
Yes, the efficacy of “Atomic Habits” is undeniable - the long-term impact of building micro habits and pursuing small wins indeed outweigh exerting immense willpower and taking massive action. James Clear’s “1% better every day” trajectory indeed leads to immense growth over time and is actually catalyzed by designing environments that make good behaviors easy and sustainable.
But what’s even better than 1% better everyday, is the electrifying power of marrying atomic habits with deep insight into the exact habits you may need to electrify your particular leadership style. Why not try for 20% growth when it is within your arm’s reach?
The potent multiplier factor that electrifies the 1% better each day trajectory, is the Five Voices training that both motivates and equips you to identify which habits would yield the highest ROI for your particular leadership style.
The Five Voices framework first highlights the differing leadership strengths and blind spots for each individual, then paves a pathway for growth for each person, since no one is naturally strong in all five leadership voices required for effective leadership. The Five Voices framework lends powerful insights into the needed habits to take each individual to next level leadership.
Simply put, the power of Five Voices-Infused Atomic Habits, is electrifying.
What’s more, choosing to join a Five Voices training cohort provides both the momentum for our growth as well as a safe space to consider our blind spots, because let’s face it - this topic of blind spots in our leadership is often off limits for us all. Not surprisingly, however, these may also be the very places where our greatest growth opportunities come from. See if these examples sounds familiar to you at all:
I had a finance client earlier this year who was excellent at details and did great work. Yet she had a tendency to jump right into business on her remote work calls and found herself receiving multiple, lateral transfers within her company. Then, just by building this one habit of taking a few minutes at the beginning of calls to connect with her team on a personal level by getting to know the person, what they’re about, their family, weekend, and interests - she found that this connection oiled her work relationships which made all the parts work much smoother. Her colleagues were replying to her email requests for information much more quickly and noticeably more willing to collaborate on issues that came up. The power of Five Voices Training is in the exacting diagnosis of strengths and areas for growth, not just general leadership principles.
Another engineering client was a Connector with a natural ability to work with cross functional teams and see the big picture - but struggled to bring “challenge” to her team because she had a tendency to protect them. She learned to frame her challenges as bringing help rather than confrontation from her perspective, which enabled her to bring appropriate levels of challenge to her direct reports and lead them well. She also chose to strategically partner with Guardians on her team who were energized by the detailed work that truthfully drained her. By leaning into her natural strengths and people skills while focusing on big picture strategy, which is what she most enjoyed and where she brought the most value - she was promoted within months.
The Cohort takes the insights from the Five Voices framework and provides the engine for growth that is both rewarding and fun. Because frankly, there is joy in self-discovery vs. being told what to do. Motivation is an absolute key factor when facing difficult tasks in life. And the Leaders Thrive training cohort provides the space to explore and opt into learning opportunities on your own terms. Let’s face it, looking in the mirror is arguably one of the hardest things we can do in real life. Leaders have perpetual blind spots because it is that painful to look at oneself in the mirror honestly.
Further, cohort training has its benefits. Practically speaking, witnessing growth in others often inspires growth in us, and letting down of guards is similarly infectious. Our normal allergic reactions to the topic of blind spots are medicated away by coach-led, cohort discussions that embrace vulnerability towards powerful change. And one person experiencing insights and practical applications motivates the next to pursue similar growth for themselves. The Five Voices framework wonderfully highlights varying strengths and blindspots for all, with no one excluded from the human predicament of having room to grow in new ways. Professional coaching has a fantastic forward thrust and often feels like therapy for high-functioning professionals who simply want to be better.
Further, hearing and experiencing different Leadership Voices in the cohort process their growth also benefits the listeners and helps them learn from their perspectives, since these varying Voices may be exact representative of their very colleagues in the workplace. Hearing their insights and growth often shed light on how we can better understand and collaborate with other Voices surrounding us at work and family.
The bottom line is this - we all need a safe space to process our challenges and to help us grow. Specifically, we need an environment that will give us ample support without judgment, all the while holding us to high standards - without coddling and equipped with tools to build on our strengths. We need both high support and high challenge. We couldn’t do one without the other, if we want to make progress with anything in life, and most of all when it comes to our leadership development. The Five Voices framework provides you with the needed challenge and the Next Level Leaders Cohort provides the required support.
I witnessed this inherent power of the high support and high challenge, liberating environment even when I was coaching elite pianists. If you know, you know - that it’s painful enough making mistakes already, and having an instructor who perpetually corrects you can lead to an exhausting experience. However, framing the corrections with deep support and building excitement around experiencing growth is what makes long-term development both sustainable and fun. Through the liberating environment I provided, I got to experience magnificent pianists develop before my very eyes over the years. Sure, everyone would love to be a great pianist - but are you willing and wanting to put in the work? Likewise, everyone wants to be a great leader in theory - how can we entice you to take on this rewarding challenge in practice?
What surprised me about our Five Voices training was how quickly participants experienced palpable results. In a short period of time, people were experiencing real empowerment and change - in mere weeks instead of years. Not only were people getting promoted, they had salient pathways for ongoing growth and development in their career for always thereafter. The ROI on the 4-month training cohort was astounding. Another benefit: The cohort model also democratizes executive coaching and makes it accessible.
So there’s my invitation to you and those whom you may oversee as well - build the right habits and “daily cast a vote for the kind of person you are becoming.” And remember that insights aren’t enough - practicing new skills and habits is what will build your muscle memory for leadership. Find a coach or cohort that will both inspire and equip you for the journey. Everyone around you at work and in your family will thank you for it.
Your default habits may be weighing you down and undermining your communication and leadership. And you may want to be better. But James Clear would agree - “pursue lasting change, not from setting goals, but through your actions.” And one of your best actions towards this end may be in finding yourself the right environment that will have you build the needed leadership habits required for your particular leadership style.
The power of deep insight and inspired intentionality, combined with the support of experienced experts who give you deep support to face hard truths about yourself and empower your growth, all the while corralled by others in the cohort pursuing the same - this is your unique opportunity and invitation.
As daunting as this may feel, let’s face it - what’s the alternative? Staying put is not a good option long-term, not if you want to thrive. What’s more, learning and growing is what makes life fun - and you wouldn’t want to miss out on all the fun you can have becoming a “leader worth following,” championing contributions of all the various Voices on your team, and maximizing your impact everywhere you go - would you?
The Five Voices assessment can be a great place to start - but please know that due to aspirational answering, the online results only have 50% accuracy.
Schedule a Discovery Call with me to to learn more. Join the Leaders Thrive cohort that’s beginning in January - it’s a streamlined 4-month program with potent ROI for your leadership and communication journey and development for the long haul. You hold the key to your future - why not unlock your potential and ignite your growth?
