The System Is the Habit

🍽️ Why the Best Leadership Happens Around the Table

The Leadership Table: - Powered by A Student of Leadership

Where Food Industry Leaders Are Made – One Habit at a Time!

Opening Story:

A senior leader in a high-growth food distribution company came to me feeling exhausted. He wasn’t showing up as the leader he wanted to be—because his days were running him.
We didn’t overhaul everything. We built one tiny routine and anchored it to his identity.
Within weeks, his team noticed a shift. Not because he became more motivated, but because he installed a system.

Leadership Lesson:

The best leaders don’t try harder—they install better systems.
Here are 7 high-impact ways to do that:

The 7 Systems for Habit Change

1️⃣ Identity-Based Habits
Don’t just set goals. Decide who you want to be.

2️⃣ The Habit Loop
Cue → Routine → Reward

3️⃣ Implementation Intentions
“If it’s 4:45 p.m., I’ll review my Leadership Tracker.”

4️⃣ Minimum Viable Habits
Make it embarrassingly small.

5️⃣ Habit Stacking

6️⃣ Visual Tracking

7️⃣ Social Accountability

🍽️ The Morning Meeting That Changed Everything

A few years ago, I worked with a seasoned General Manager in the food distribution space—smart, driven, and respected. But he had a blind spot: his team felt ignored.

He was so caught up in the day-to-day fires that he stopped connecting with people. His team described him as efficient but invisible.

He knew it. He hated it. But he told me, “I just don’t have time for all the touchy-feely leadership stuff.”

So, we didn’t start big. We started with one habit:

That was it. A two-minute habit.

He stacked it onto something he already did—his morning facility walkthrough. He turned it into a game: 5 names, 5 connections, every day.

Within 2 weeks, people started smiling again when he walked by.
In 30 days, team morale scores improved.
In 90 days, his leadership credibility score jumped.

And it all came from one micro-behavior, repeated consistently.
The habit wasn’t “walk the floor”—he was already doing that.
The habit was connecting—anchored in a system he already lived.

He didn’t change overnight.
But the system changed him over time.

🧠 Leadership Habit of the Week: Create Space for Story

None of these stories are really about the food.

They are about the Social connections and experiences that we create around food.

They’re about what the food makes possible.

Shared meals create the space for people to connect as people—not just coworkers.

And when that happens, trust, curiosity, and collaboration grow.

Leaders are reminded how important these social connections are in building strong, resourceful motivated, and inspired teams that can have a huge positive cultural impact.

💬 Reflection Questions:

• What’s one leadership habit I keep saying I’ll build—but haven’t?

• Which of these systems could help me actually follow through?

• How can I reinforce my identity as a leader through my habits?

🎯 This Week’s Habit Challenge

Pick one behavior. Pick one system.
Run the play for 7 days. Share your results with a peer, mentor, or team member.

Let the system do the heavy lifting.

🔜 Next Week: We are going to get even more Curious!

Why Great Food Leaders Ask the Second Question

Until then, Keep leading with intention— One habit at a time.