Leaders often look for big, bold actions to grow their teams. But small, daily nudges are more effective for influencing higher levels of employee behavior, performance, and results.

Here's a nudge leaders can use to have employees improve themselves daily:

Ask them to start each day by writing down one thing they will get better at or learn more about related to their role.

It should be something actionable that no matter what they can do that day.

• Learn one new keyboard shortcut to save time
• Discover at least three specific things about each customer
• Test two different approaches when calling clients
• Master a function in Excel they've never used
• Research a relevant new industry trend
• Practice active listening skills with colleagues or clients
• Find and follow another company that does social media well

Articulating a specific skill to focus on in The Day nudges employees to develop themselves each day consciously. Over time, these small daily improvements will compound and have a more significant impact on performance. If they do that AND improve two other things in their day, they’ll have at least 1,095 improvements in a year.

The daily nudge from leaders demonstrates the importance of ongoing development while giving employees autonomy over the specific skill and outcome they target. With this daily approach, employees will default to pushing themselves to be better every day. That’s how you create One-Day Success.

Try nudging, not pushing, and watch your team reach new heights.

So let me ask three questions:

1) Is nudging your co-worker out of the way to get to the last donut count as an improvement?

2) Has your nudging ever involved slightly aggressive elbow jabs or donuts?

3) How often are you nudging your employees to improve at least one thing a day? (The best answer is daily!)