Dear Leader,
I trust this meets you in pursuit of wisdom.
The year is not so new anymore. Welcome to February!
When I wrote my short e-book, Ready, Set, LEAD, I emphasized how systems help leaders avoid burnout and remain effective while leading people. Over time, I have come to realise that this idea goes even deeper and is even more relevant for young leaders.
Last week, I hosted the Early Leaders Roundtable at Delta State University, Abraka. It was a deeply enriching experience, made even more valuable by the honest and thoughtful feedback from participants. One recurring theme in our discussions was discipline – an essential requirement for anyone who desires to grow as a leader. A major expression of discipline is time management.
As a young or student leader, you have the same 24 hours as the people you lead. Yet, you also carry the responsibility of serving their interests while keeping up with your academic commitments. This raises an important question: how do you use your time wisely to remain productive as a leader without neglecting your studies?
During the session, I shared some of my daily routines – habits I have maintained since my undergraduate days. Someone privately asked a question I hear quite often: How did you learn to wake up early?
My answer is simple: the secret to waking up early is sleeping early.
For over a decade, I have started my day around 4:00 a.m., sometimes even earlier. I follow a consistent morning routine before leaving home. This habit began during my undergraduate years, influenced by the many autobiographies and biographies of leaders I read. One pattern stood out clearly – many effective leaders value the early hours of the day.
At the time, I lived in a crowded and noisy boys’ hostel, often loud from early morning until late at night. I discovered that I understood and retained information better when I studied early in the morning. So, I built a routine: waking up by 4:00 a.m. to read until about 6:00 or 6:30 a.m., before the day’s noise began.
However, the key lesson here is not about waking up at 4:00 a.m. or sleeping by 9:00 p.m. The real lesson is this: systems are more powerful than willpower.
I learned to observe my body and realised how much rest I needed to function well. So, I built a simple system — eating dinner early, putting away my phone by 9:00 p.m., and sleeping on time. Whenever I ignored this system, I missed my alarm.
As I wrote in my book:
“One of the greatest secrets to leadership and personal growth is that I use systems for almost everything.
Most of the things we accomplish in life comes easily through strategies and systems. If you are someone who does things haphazardly, you will rarely accomplish much and get tired easily.
I have systems created to become better at leading myself. For example, I have a time set everyday that I must wake up. I don’t sleep and wake up just any time I like. I wake at a specific time of the day, every single day and I have created a list of 3-5 things I must get done every day to make that day well spent. I create systems for everything in my life – sleeping, eating, reading, thinking, planning, working, etc. The system helps me save time.
Michael Gerber says “Systems permit ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results predictably” I totally agree!
Systems have improved my performance greatly. If you want to improve your leadership and not get tired of leading ultimately, then develop systems that work for you.”
If you desire to grow as a leader, remain effective, and avoid burnout, I encourage you to develop systems that work for you.
Leadership is personal, and so are the systems that sustain it. Build yours intentionally.
I’m rooting for you,
The Great Owete