According to a 2007 study by Carol S. Dweck (Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, New York, NY: Ballantine Books), most adults deal with situations in a “reactive” manner, especially when they are challenged. Traditional companies are built to deal with situations in a reactive manner.

However, to build and lead agile organizations, leaders need to run principally “in the creative.”. Discipline is key to this creative and proactive form of leadership.

There are essential reactive-to-creative mindset shifts that are critical to fostering the culture of collaboration, innovation, and value creation at the center of agile companies. These include: 

• Moving from authority to partnership to foster collaboration
• Adopting discovery instead of certainty as an approach to foster innovation
• Moving from dearth to abundance of resources to foster value creation 

 A disciplined approach to leadership is needed to adopt these mindset shifts and create a culture of inclusion, freedom, creative collision, and customer-centricity. 

Like Theodore Roosevelt said, With self-discipline, most anything is possible.”

Because of intrinsic autonomy and independence, leadership in agile organizations stems from a self-disciplined leadership style: to lead in service of passion and purpose rather than in fear of sanction or punishment.

It can be seen from the list of disciplined leaders in India, which includes stalwarts such as Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sanjiv Bajaj, and Anand Mahindra, that they embrace a very disciplined approach to success.

Lists of disciplined leaders in India, such as Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sanjiv Bajaj, and Anand Mahindra, show that they believe in a disciplined approach to success. Self-discipline should not be understood as too many rules resulting in stifling bureaucracy; instead, they are basic guidelines that provide structure and prevent the chaos that arises from no rules.

Sustainable innovation, which creates long-term value, is a result of discipline. Top finance empathetic leaders in India believe that injecting discipline into growth and success is as important as radical innovation to rejuvenate businesses. 

Common Habits of Disciplined Leaders

Here are seven common habits of the top disciplined leaders in India that help them shine personally and professionally: 

• Top disciplined leaders have a plan 

 These leaders have a plan, whether day-to-day working or a crisis situation. They set small achievable milestones that help the team remain focused and motivated to achieve the bigger picture. Having a plan does not mean they are rigid; they alter the plans to adapt to the changing circumstances. But knowing where you are head and what the next step is, is a form of discipline. 

• Self-disciplined leaders are punctual

Being punctual indicates respect. Leaders value their time and the time of others,  be it a conference, meeting, or a regular day at work, they are always on time. They start early and manage their time effectively to accomplish their targets and make the most of the day. The team implements a routine and never misses a deadline, preventing complicated difficulties. 

• They steer clear of distractions

The most disciplined leaders have clarity; they know what motivates and what distracts them. Anything that can throw them off their path of achieving the goal and take away from their focus is a distraction and they steer clear of that. These include setbacks, PR mishaps, technical failures, bottlenecks, competitor-related news, etc. They have aced the art of self-control and keep distractions at bay, especially at work.

• They have mastered the art of s prioritizing

Successful, disciplined leaders are very categoric about their priorities, which makes them effective. They know what to give their immediate attention to and what to put on hold. They efficiently use their planning tools to be guide in the right direction.

• Disciplined leaders are proactive

Disciplined leaders are not reactive; instead, they are more creative and proactive. They make things happen. To be proactive and ahead of their game, they empower their employees to be more innovative and come up with creative ways to deal with anticipated situations. Their first-mover advantage and readiness give them an edge over their competitors.  

• They are passionate and well-informed

They have a dream that they want to achieve, and discipline gets them there. But this passion branches out from knowledge and information. They stay up to date and keep themselves well informed about subjects that can help shape their dream. The experts are well-verse in what is going on around them and can impact their organization with any regulatory change, market trend, digital innovation in that area, or alertness to the competition.

• They celebrate and reward themselves and their teams 

Self-discipline is frequently misunderstand as rigidity or strictness. The opposite is true. Leaders who are discipline recognize their own accomplishments as well as those around them. They recognize, appreciate, and reward these small wins for keeping everyone motivated. Recognizing and celebrating one’s successes only makes the focus and determination to achieve more power.

Self-discipline and leadership are intertwined. Discipline should be inculcate in such a way that it becomes natural to work. Consistency is key to success, and it stems from discipline. Self-disciplined leaders can efficiently manage their thoughts, time, and actions. This sort of discipline is what drives organizations to success.

If you look at some of the most disciplined leaders in India; they have successfully managed to build large and thriving businesses by following a steadfast approach. They have exhibited a key value – self-discipline that enshrines in their work and has inculcated the same in others.

This kind of unwavering dedication and commitment stems from self-discipline. Leadership is not a goal but a journey of relentless pursuit of principles and ideas. Discipline should not be misconstructing as too many rules that stifle creativity; instead, discipline is the framework that allows creativity while keeping you on the desired trajectory.

Having a plan, being punctual, passionate, well-informed, focused, proactive, and having priorities straight are a few common habits of the top discipline leaders in India.