If you pick the right small behavior and sequence it right, then you won’t have to motivate yourself to have it grow. It will just happen naturally, like a good seed planted in a good spot. ~B.J. Fogg

It’s a new year, and that means many leaders are setting goals for the year – personal and professional. In a few months (or maybe even weeks!) many of those goals will be tossed by the wayside. We will have determined, all too quickly, that we will never achieve those goals.

This is because when leaders simply set goals, they fall short!

I have an activity I use with leadership teams following the development of a new strategic plan – chockfull of goals. I go around the room and ask each leader to tell everyone in the room what they are going to do differently in order to help the organization achieve those goals. In other words, how are you going to behave differently. Typically, I get blank stares and most leaders don’t identify anything. Hence, why it’s so hard to achieve goals. We expect a different outcome without actually changing our behavior.

We stop with developing goals and don’t dig deeper to identify and commit to new behaviors. Goals are achieved by changed behavior, not by simply writing down hopes and dreams.

Think about this on a personal level. You can have a goal to lose 20 pounds by June. Even add some objectives, like workout at the gym three days a week. And, you may do just that; but then you’re soon back to the old routine.

Why? You didn’t change behaviors!

Example. To go to the gym at say 6:30am and stick with it, you may need to change your behavior and start going to bed earlier. You may need to shift your food choices and meal schedule so you have more energy early in morning.

Merriam-Webster defines behavior as: “anything that we do involving action and response to stimulation.” What is stimulating you and how are you responding to that stimulation?

Many organizations have a goal around innovation. However, when presented with a new idea in a team meeting (stimulation) several key leaders immediately begin to critique the idea and list all of the barriers, issues, etc. why it won’t work (response to stimulation). If they want the organization to achieve a goal involving more innovation, then these key leaders need to make a change in their behavior. [Note, while this might sound like an obvious example, I’ve seen this scenario happen on numerous occasions.]

If you want to achieve your goals this year (personal & professional), what behaviors do you need to change?  How will you begin responding differently to specific types of stimulation?

“Pick the right small behavior, and sequence it right,” to achieve your goals in 2019.