The Small Things That Actually Matter
There's a black and blue Sky cycling cap hanging on my handlebars. It's been there for years now, a small reminder of something Dave Brailsford taught the cycling world (and then everyone else borrowed): marginal gains.
If you've followed British Cycling or Team Sky at all, you'll know the story. Brailsford's mission was audacious: get a British rider to win the Tour de France. His method? Focus relentlessly on the tiny things. The pillows they slept on. The hand-washing technique to avoid illness. The exact angle of the handlebars. None of it revolutionary on its own, but together? They achieved their goal within just a few years of setting up the team.
"Marginal gains" has become shorthand now. You hear it everywhere, in boardrooms and strategy decks and LinkedIn posts (including this blog, admittedly). But here's what I've been thinking about lately: we've taken the language of marginal gains into leadership without always taking the practice of it.
Because when it comes to leading people, the marginal gains aren't sexy. They're not the big strategic pivot or the bold restructure or the inspiring all-hands speech. They're the small, unglamorous, every-single-day moments that most of us are too busy to prioritise properly.
It's the morning check-in with yourself before you open your laptop. How am I doing today? Where's my energy? What have I got coming up that's going to need something from me?
It's knowing yourself well enough to adjust before you walk into that first meeting rather than realising halfway through that you're running on fumes and frustration.
It's taking the time to actually talk to people, not just about deliverables but about how they're doing. It's listening properly (not whilst also scanning your emails). It's asking the questions that give people space to think rather than the ones designed to get you the answer you need right now.
If you're a senior leader carrying a team or a function or a business unit, you already know this truth: a monthly one-to-one doesn't cut it. That's the absolute baseline, not the whole game. The difference between a team that functions and a team that thrives? It's what happens in between those scheduled moments.
I've spent a lot of time this year working with leaders on what I call leadership rhythms and cadence. What are you doing every day, every week, every month, every quarter that's moving you and your team forward? Not the big initiatives (those matter too, obviously), but the small, repeatable practices that compound over time.
What are your marginal gains? The tiny habits that make your leadership better?
For some people it's a standing coffee with a direct report on Thursday mornings. For others it's blocking 15 minutes before a difficult conversation to think through how they want to show up. For others still, it's a Tuesday afternoon walk to clear their head before the rest of the week lands on them.
None of it feels like much in isolation. But over weeks and months? That's where the shift happens. That's where trust builds, where psychological safety grows, where people feel genuinely seen and supported rather than just managed.
The Sky cap on my bike reminds me: it's not the grand gestures that change the game. It's the small things, done consistently, that add up to something significant.
So what are yours? What are the small moments and practices that drive your leadership? The ones that maybe nobody else notices but you know make the difference?
Because here's the thing about marginal gains in leadership: unlike cycling, where you can measure watts and aerodynamics and recovery times, the improvements aren't always immediately visible. But ask your team in six months whether those small consistent moments mattered, and I'd bet money on what they'll tell you.
It's the small things. Always has been.
