A few years ago, while illustrating an article about superstitions, some of the behavior described in the piece sounded eerily familiar. In that moment of recognition, I became aware of my own quirky behavior and started to notice some similar patterns among my friends and colleagues. Prior to a canoe-paddling race, one of my teammates knelt down on the beach, grabbed a fistful of sand, and released it while adjusting her visor. I thought nothing of this until the same ritual was performed at the next race and the ones that followed. At another friend’s book release party, he shared a specific routine he followed on the day his books are published.

Although not a big baseball fan, I love to watch batters step up to the plate and go through their own good luck rituals before taking a swing: specific ways of adjusting a helmet, moving their feet, or touching a necklace. When I heard an interview with the musician Thom Yorke in which he shared his preperformance ritual, I wondered how many other accomplished and acclaimed leaders in their fields also had similar superstitions, rituals, or practices that were integral to their process and work. My curiosity led me behind the doors of dressing rooms, inside artists’ and writers’ studios, through locker rooms and laboratories, and even, on occasion, inside bedrooms.