Leadership Mythbusters: Busting the Myths That Hold Leaders Back
I loved the show Mythbusters. I liked the science behind it and the fun they had in trying new things to prove or disprove ideas. But, most of all, I liked the curiosity that went into the approach. They didn’t assume anything up front. They tested and learned. Assuming you watched the show, you know the fun of seeing common assumptions put to the test. Sometimes they held up, sometimes they didn’t. And the fun was in finding out the truth.
Leadership and productivity advice are full of myths too. Some have been repeated so often they sound like facts. But when you step back, they don’t always make sense. And they certainly don’t apply equally to everyone. I want to put a few common leadership myths to the test here. The goal is to see what stands up, but more importantly, how can you think critically about things you hear, see, or read from others? The best way to learn and understand if something makes sense is to try for yourself.
Myth #1: It Takes 21 Days to Form a Habit
You hear it everywhere: just stick with something for 21 days and it becomes a habit. Some people stretch that to 66 days. There's no magic number. Habit formation isn’t about the calendar. It’s about the person. How motivated are they? How meaningful is the habit? What support do they have in place? How consistent is their environment? Some habits might start to take root in a week. Others might need months. What matters more is this:
Do you want to build the habit?
Do you understand why it matters to you?
Have you made it easy to repeat?
If the answer to those is yes, it will stick. Not because a myth said 21 days, but because you made it meaningful.
Myth #2: Multitasking Makes You More Efficient
This one’s been around forever. I have written about this before in Multitasking is a Myth. And the message still stands:
Multitasking feels productive. But it isn’t.
Yes, we all multitask in small ways during the day. But multitasking breaks down when it comes to deep thinking, important decisions, or high-quality work. Your brain can’t truly do two complex things at once. It just switches back and forth. In doing so, you lose time, focus, and clarity every time it does. You see this all the time in retail: a manager is talking to a customer while trying to look something up. Both things take longer. The customer doesn’t feel fully heard. The manager gets frustrated.
The takeaway: When the work matters, give it your full attention. You’ll do it better and faster in the end.
Myth #3: Early Risers Are More Productive
This one comes from most people's childhood: "The early bird gets the worm."
But not everyone is wired to start their day before sunrise. And productivity isn’t about when you wake up. It’s about how you manage your energy and attention throughout the day. Daniel Pink’s book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing digs into this idea. Some people are morning types (larks). Others do their best work late in the day (night owls). Forcing yourself into a schedule that doesn’t match your natural rhythm can hurt more than help. Spoiler, most people fall in between the two. Third Birds. Here is my take on this. Know your peak times and protect them. If you’re a night owl, save creative or strategic work for the evening. If mornings are your strength, use them for your most important tasks.
There is no right time. There’s only your time.
Myth #4: You Have to Be Ruthless to Get Ahead
This one shows up in subtle ways. People assume that being tough, demanding, or even cold is the key to climbing the ladder. I disagree. That style might work in the short term. It might even get results. But it’s not sustainable. Being overly hard on people breaks trust. It damages culture. It makes people leave. There are moments to be direct and structured. But great leaders listen and invite input, collaborate across teams, and develop and empower others. Those are proven to be sustainable approaches to long-term success. And over the long haul, those leaders tend to win. If a company rewards ruthlessness, that’s not just a leadership problem. That’s a culture problem. And eventually, it catches up with them.
Bust the Myth. Keep What Works.
With so much advice out there, it can be hard to know what to follow. Everyone has a take on books, podcasts, LinkedIn posts, and videos. You need to ask yourself, “Does this make sense? Does this make sense for me? Is this something I can take on and continue to do?” Those are the real tests for each individual. Myths only hold us back when we believe them without question. Some might turn out to be true. Others might be true for someone else, but not for you. I think this idea of challenging leadership myths is something we will come back to. We need to explore some of these common thought practices and challenge their value. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to question what you hear. Try new things to see how they work for you. And keep doing the things that work best for your situation. You will be your own mythbuster.
What myths will you be putting to the test?
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