The One Leadership Habit That Changed How My Team Shows Up

I want to tell you about a shift that happened on my team — and it started with one small thing I began doing every single morning.

Before I made this change, my team was... fine. They showed up, did their work, and checked their boxes. But there was a low energy to things. Meetings felt flat. People waited to be told what to do. I kept wondering why no one seemed as invested as I was.

I tried a lot of things. Better goal-setting. More one-on-ones. Clearer communication about expectations. Some of it helped a little. But nothing moved the needle the way I wanted.

Then I started doing one thing differently — and within a few weeks, I noticed a real change. People became more proactive. Conversations got sharper. The team started owning their work instead of just completing it.

The habit? Every morning, before I do anything else, I ask one question:

"What is blocking my team right now — and what can I do to remove it?"

That's it. That's the whole habit. But the reason it works goes a lot deeper than it looks.

The Leadership Trap Nobody Talks About

Here's something most leadership books won't tell you: the biggest obstacle between your team and their best work is often you.

Not because you're a bad leader. Not because you don't care. But because when you're focused on your own to-do list — your meetings, your deliverables, your inbox — you're not scanning for what's slowing your team down.

Decisions that need your approval sit in limbo for days. Questions go unanswered because people don't want to interrupt you. Two people are duplicating work because no one clarified who owns what. A team member is stuck on a problem they're too nervous to escalate.

All of that invisible friction adds up. And it doesn't show up in any dashboard or weekly report — it shows up in low energy, missed deadlines, and people who stop going the extra mile.

Simon Sinek, author of Leaders Eat Last, captures this perfectly:

"Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge."

Taking care of your team isn't just about culture initiatives or motivational speeches. It's about the daily, operational act of making sure they can actually do their best work. And that means actively removing the things in their way.

What Path Clearing Actually Is

The leadership habit I'm talking about is what I call Path Clearing — and it takes about 15 minutes every morning.

The core idea comes from a concept that Liz Wiseman writes about in her book Multipliers. Wiseman's research found that the most effective leaders — the ones whose teams consistently over-performed — weren't the ones who had all the answers or made all the decisions. They were the ones who created the conditions for their team to think and work at their highest level.

As Wiseman puts it:

"Multipliers look at the complex world around them and see capability. They see the genius in others and know that genius is something that can be cultivated and used."

Path clearing is how you cultivate that genius in practice. It's not a grand gesture. It's a daily habit of asking: what's in my team's way? And then actually removing it.

The 3-Step Path Clearing Process

Here's exactly how the habit works:

Step 1: Scan for blockers.

Before you open your own task list or check your email, spend five minutes asking: "What is my team waiting on? What decisions are pending? What's creating friction for someone right now?"

This doesn't have to be formal. It's a mental scan — or a quick look at your notes from the previous day. The point is to see the team's landscape before you put your head down into your own work.

Step 2: Identify the one highest-impact blocker to clear today.

You can't remove every obstacle at once. But you can almost always identify the one blocker that, if cleared today, would have the biggest positive impact. Maybe it's approving a budget request that's been sitting on your desk. Maybe it's making a call on a project direction the team has been waiting on. Maybe it's having a direct conversation you've been avoiding.

Pick one. Do it before 10am.

Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, writes:

"Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage."

And teamwork can't happen when people are stuck, unclear, or waiting. Clearing the path is how you make teamwork actually possible.

Step 3: Communicate what you've done.

This is the step most leaders miss — and it's the one that builds the most trust.

When you unblock something, tell the person. "Hey, I approved that request — you're clear to move forward." Or "I made the call on the project direction — here's where we're going."

This matters more than you think. It signals: I see your work. I'm paying attention. I'm actively invested in your ability to succeed.

What Changes When You Do This Consistently

When path clearing becomes a daily habit, a few things start to shift — and some of them are counterintuitive.

Your team gets faster. When decisions don't bottleneck at you and friction gets removed consistently, people move. Projects that used to stall start flowing.

Trust increases significantly. When people see that you consistently notice friction and remove it, they start to believe you actually have their backs. That changes everything about how they show up — their energy, their candor, their willingness to take initiative.

You become a better communicator. The daily scan forces you to stay aware of what everyone is working on. Your one-on-ones get sharper. Your team meetings become more substantive, because you're coming in informed.

People take more ownership — not less. Here's the counterintuitive one. You might think that clearing obstacles for people would make them dependent on you. It actually does the opposite. When people know they won't get stuck indefinitely — that you'll clear the path if something is genuinely blocking them — they become more willing to take initiative. They start solving problems before they escalate. They stop waiting for permission.

That's the difference between a team that executes and a team that leads itself.

How to Apply This to Your Specific Situation

If you lead a small team (2–5 people): Your daily scan is probably quick — you know what everyone is working on. The habit is mostly about being intentional before you dive into your own work.

If you lead a larger team: You may need to rely more on notes, status updates, and your one-on-ones. Build a quick "blockers" section into your team meeting agenda so friction surfaces before it becomes a problem.

If you're a solopreneur with contractors or freelancers: The same principle applies. Before you start your day, ask who might be waiting on you — for a decision, a piece of content, feedback, an approval. Clear it before you go heads-down.