What does it take to lead well in your veterinary practice when everything around you feels unpredictable?

You might be juggling client concerns, staff dynamics, and a schedule that's already changed three times before lunch. The day rarely unfolds the way you planned. And in that space, when you can't control what's coming at you, the one thing you can control is how you respond.

That starts with habits. Not the big, sweeping changes you hope will transform everything. The small, repeatable ones that make good leadership feel natural instead of forced.

Self-Leadership Begins with Small Habits

Leadership in a veterinary practice starts with leading yourself. That's not about titles or authority. It's about the daily choices that help you stay centered, calm, and intentional when the day is pulling you in ten directions.

When you don't have a plan for how you want to lead, you end up reacting to whatever's in front of you. Building small habits gives you structure that helps you focus on what actually matters instead of just responding to what's urgent.

Think of self-leadership as built on three actions: plan, schedule, choose.

Without those habits in place, you risk spending every day reacting to whatever's on fire instead of leading with purpose.

Plan, Schedule, Choose

What does planning look like for you? Maybe it's five minutes before your shift to set intentions for the day. Maybe it's thinking through how you want to show up in your next team meeting. A plan gives your brain direction instead of leaving it to drift toward stress.

Schedule time for the things that recharge you, not just the things that demand your attention. Put a check-in with a team member on your calendar the same way you'd schedule a client appointment. Block five minutes at the end of the day to reflect on what worked and what you'd do differently tomorrow. If you don't schedule it, it won't happen.

You get to choose how you show up. You can see your team as overwhelmed, or you can see them as growing. Will you see the day as chaotic, or as a chance to be at your best? These are choices. Practice them consistently, and they'll become habits.

Create New Habits Instead of Breaking Old Ones

When people think about change, they often focus on what they want to stop doing. Stop being reactive, stop procrastinating, stop losing patience.

But here's the thing: your brain doesn't build habits around what you stop. It builds them around what you start.

If you want to stop being reactive, what would being more proactive look like for you? If you want to address gossip in your practice, what conversations might you need to start?

Habits are routines your brain has automated to save energy. It doesn't matter whether those routines help you or hurt you, your brain will run whatever pattern you've repeated most often.

The good news is that you can rewire those patterns. You can teach your brain a new habit by repeating a new behavior enough times that it becomes easier than the old one.

Start Small, Really Small

When you're building a new habit, start small, ridiculously small. You're stretched thin as it is, so starting small makes sense. And, we know from research on habits that the smaller you start, the better you sustain that habit over time. [Need citation]

If you want to start walking in the morning, you don't have to walk five miles. Walk to the end of the block and turn around. If you can walk fifty feet, next week you might be able to walk a hundred. Before you know it you'll be walking half a mile.

You could even build the habit in an afternoon by practicing the routine itself. Put your shoes on. Take them off. Put them back on. Walk outside. Walk back in. It sounds strange, but what you're doing is building a neural pathway. And once you've got a pathway for starting your walk, you'll be much more likely to take the walk. It may seem silly, but it works. Starting small is how you build momentum.

Connect New Habits to What You Already Do

The best way to make a new habit stick is to anchor it to something you already do. If you already walk from your car into the clinic every morning, use that time for a short check-in with yourself. Ask a simple question before you open the door: What kind of leader do I want to be today?

If you already review the schedule at the start of your shift, use that moment to think about where you can best support your team. If you already have team huddles, use the few minutes before they start to ask yourself a self-leadership question. For example: 

• What's one thing I want to accomplish today that I'll feel good about?
• What do my teammates need from me today?
• How should I plan my day so that I feel good about it at the end?

New habits stick when they have an anchor. You can find yours in things you're already doing.

Build Habits That Help You Recharge

Veterinary medicine doesn't always give you easy days, but good habits can make hard days feel less heavy.

The goal isn't to remove challenges. It's to create systems that help you recharge and recover, not just cope and survive. And there's a difference between coping and recharging. Coping gets you through the day. Recharging gives you energy for tomorrow.

As a leader, you can't give your team what you don't have. Habits like journaling, walking, or checking in with a colleague can help you recharge. Building small habits that protect your focus, patience, and energy isn't selfish. It's how you keep showing up as the leader your team needs.

Create Better Days in Your Veterinary Practice

Every leader wants less chaos and more calm. That doesn't happen through willpower or luck. It happens through small, repeatable actions that help you lead well without having to fight for it every day.

So here's a question for you: What's one small habit that would make tomorrow better for you and your team?

Whatever your answer is, start there. You don't need to overhaul your leadership style overnight. Just take one intentional step and repeat it, because leadership isn't built in a moment. It's built in the habits you practice every day.

What do you think? Other veterinary pros want to hear from you! Share your experience in the comments below.