How You Do Anything is How You Do Everything

How you do one thing is how you do everything.  

When one area of your health suffers, all the other parts suffer too.  Equally, when you develop one part of your life, all the other parts benefit too.

Let me explain how this relates to us as leaders.

This summer while on vacation in the beautiful mountains of Wyoming my courageous husband fell from a bicycle while riding down a steep mountain at a fast rate of speed.  He wasn’t knocked unconscious, but he suffered from three broken ribs and blood-filled lungs.  This accident was just a few weeks ago.  His body is visibly bruised and low impact movements are the current norm, but he is doing much better now.  His healing is day-by-day and will take up to 8 weeks to fully recover.

I have always been some what of a person who does things all the way.  I don’t cut corners on the work.  But to be honest, I have a junk drawer or two or even a closet full of “stuff” that I could really work on.  If things look great on the surface, I am totally fine walking by that junk drawer and closet and never skip a beat.

As I watch him heal from his broken and bruised body, I think about the quote- “How you do one thing is how you do everything.”  When one part of your body is suffering, all the other parts suffer too.  He struggles to just to get dressed, to work a full day at work, to sleep a full night’s sleep, etc…  A broken bone or three can make a big difference in how you function.

You might be thinking what does this have to do with me as a leader?

Well here is the answer.  The way we handle one thing showcases how we will handle the next hing.  When you are dedicated to the complete project, you will create habits that lead you to do the same in the future.

Creating that junk drawer at home and a closet filled with unnecessary items only clutters my house and takes up space.  The habit I have created will sprinkle into my work life unless I take conscious attempts to change my habits and behaviors.  These patterns of just throwing something in the drawer or shoving it into a closet of course will bleed over into my professional life and my leadership abilities if I am not careful.

As you begin this journey as a school leader either for the first time or as a seasoned school leader, I invite you to take a closer look at your own habits, particularly those that are not serving you.  Perhaps just one simple concept, like organizing your desk, or creating a filing system, or cleaning out your inbox every day before you go home, could be just the answer to a better year.

A simple shift in one habit can inevitability impact another.

How you do one thing is how you do everything.