20 Underrated Leadership Habits That Drive Team Performance

Forbes

2 days ago

As a leader, sustaining strong team performance rarely comes from bold moves or quick wins. While these and other high-energy leadership tactics might spark short-term momentum, they don't always build the trust, clarity or emotional stability teams need to thrive over time. In fact, it's often the quieter, less visible behaviors that create the strongest foundation.
Below, the members of Forbes Coaches Council discuss the commonly overlooked leadership habits that contribute to a team's long-term success.
Listening—not just hearing, but really listening—is key. It sounds simple, but it's rare. When leaders tune in without ego, teams feel safe, seen and energized. And that builds trust—the compound interest of high performance. - Anastasia Paruntseva, Visionary Partners Ltd.
Lead with your values when it's hard—not just when it's easy. When pressure hits, your choices either reinforce respect, integrity and excellence—or expose what you've been tolerating. The leaders who outperform over time are the ones who live their values, especially when it costs them. - Kristi Staab, Kristi Staab Enterprises
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Great leaders know when to 'sit on their hands,' a habit borrowed from chess. Pausing before acting sharpens critical thinking, reduces stress and builds trust. Just like in chess, thoughtful reflection leads to smarter moves and long-term team success. - Vincent Pieterse, The Hubler
Emotional attunement matters. In the age of hustle and KPIs, many leaders forget that performance is deeply tied to emotional safety. Leaders who regulate their nervous systems and hold space without fixing build loyal, high-performing teams. When people feel emotionally safe, they stop managing fear and start embodying purpose. Safety is the secret to sustainable success. - Dr Vidhya Kumaranayakam, Dr Vidhya Global Institute of Leadership and Emotional Mastery
Make time for regular reflection, with yourself and your team. Leaders who pause to ask, 'What's working, what's not and what's next?' create learning loops that compound over time. Reflection paired with action builds clarity, alignment and sustainable performance. - Melissa Cidado, Breakthrough Coaching
One of the most powerful habits of successful leaders is adaptability. Rigid playbooks do not thrive in a turbulent and uncertain environment. When challenges arise, they pivot with purpose and act strategically. This can take time to develop, but it's key to long-term success. Leaders who can adapt and communicate clearly don't just survive uncertainty; they drive high-performing teams through it. - Dan Hawkins, Summit Leadership Partners
The most underrated leadership habit is caring for the people who work for you. Maya Angelou said, 'People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget the way you made them feel.' Ask anyone to give you an example of an outstanding leader they looked up to and enjoyed working for. They'll remember how they made them feel. - Sunny Smith, Empowering Women Physicians
Historically, for leaders, sleep has been viewed as optional and even discouraged in some circles. The neuroscience of sleep has now revealed sleep as a biological imperative. Even one night of poor sleep can reduce motor and cognitive performance. Chronic poor sleep is equivalent to moderate intoxication levels, decreasing leaders' ability to think, respond and act at their best. - Andrew Geesbreght, PRAX Leadership
Many leaders often say they have an 'open door' policy, but then you have to go through an administrator to set up access, or there's a fear of going to their office. Adopt a 'no door' policy. Get out from behind your desk and go out to meet people and talk to them. Have informal skip-level meetings with employees. Take a group of employees to lunch. Open that door. - John Knotts, Crosscutter Enterprises
One underrated leadership habit: saying 'I don't know.' Many leaders feel pressure to have all the answers, but admitting uncertainty builds trust. It shows your team that honesty matters more than ego. When people feel safe to speak up, take risks and own mistakes, psychological safety grows; that's the base every team needs for real learning and long-term performance. - Weixi Tan, Workplace Asia
One underrated habit that drives long-term performance is using humor thoughtfully—not to distract from the work, but to make space feel lighter when pressure is high. When used well, it builds connection, lowers defensiveness and reminds the team they're human. Over time, that kind of atmosphere supports resilience and performance. - Mo Khan, MentorMeet.com
One of the best ways to get a team on the same page is to literally sit down and accurately assess the team and the work. Leveraging Thomas Patterson's The Four Helpfuls—what's right, what's wrong, what's missing and what's confused—will pave the way to deeper insight and understanding for the team. Determining what's most important, listing out action steps and making improvements is key. - Kevin West, Invisible Insights Inc.
Leadership integrity is crucial. Real leadership isn't about titles—it's about trust. Does your walk match your talk? Make sure you keep your word, own your mistakes, and live your values. High integrity + high energy = a leader people want to follow. - Bill Koch, Bill Koch Leadership Coaching
It is the mental stability of the leader that has a profound impact on team performance, because the leader sets the emotional tone of the team. This results in agility and resilience, clear and rational decision-making, a supportive and empathetic approach to people, and consistency in the way the leader shows up. - Edyta Pacuk, MarchFifteen Consulting Inc.
Great leaders develop the habit of moving between the balcony and the dance floor. They go 'up' to get perspective and see the whole picture, and then they go 'down' to engage in a very real way with people engaged in the work of the company. This dance enables you to weave essential insights into your decision-making and talent management and leads to highly adaptive and effective strategies. - Joanne Heyman, Heyman Partners
Don't forget to give your compliments to the people who need to hear them the most—those who did the work! Often, leaders share with a wide audience their appreciation and compliments, but they fail to look in the eyes of those who did the work and say, 'Thank you! Well done!' It's free and it goes a long way! - Ellen Lail, Lail Coaching, LLC
Regularly asking for—and genuinely listening to—team feedback is an underrated leadership habit. It builds trust, signals respect and uncovers valuable insights. Leaders who embrace this habit foster openness, loyalty and sustained high performance within their teams. - Peter Boolkah, The Transition Guy
One powerful leadership habit is consistently demonstrating that you value your team members' ideas, contributions and potential for greatness. It's not just about acknowledgement—it's about making people feel seen, heard and genuinely supported in achieving their goals. Leaders who do this drive sustained performance and loyalty over time. - Cheri Rainey, Rainey Leadership Learning
The most effective and underrated leadership habit is checking for understanding. After every important communication, the key behavior is to simply ask, 'What did you understand from what I just said?' It's ridiculously simple but amazingly powerful in avoiding problems and delays. - Adriana Gattermayr, BTS
Make the emotional climate in your team or organization a priority and habitually check in with people to see how they are (really) doing. The emotional state is a main driver of performance and depends on how psychological needs are met. Focusing on the people instead of the numbers will improve the numbers. - Thomas Gelmi, Movadis AG