The Challenge of Habit Change

Dear Meredith,

Perhaps most important is perseverance. Behavioral change is hard enough by itself; but to get it to where it habituates (meaning the new behavior becomes the default behavior) is even harder.

I liken it to a tennis coach and an aspiring professional player. Let’s say that as your coach, I believe your forehand would be more effective if you struck the ball sooner than you currently do. I explain why and you agree. Yet you’ve hit a gazillion forehands a certain way and have been successful. Change will be anything but easy.

I take a piece of chalk and draw a line on the court about 12 inches in front of you and tell you to strike the ball at that point. Balls get hit to you while a camera records the strike point where your strings contact the ball.  

It’s predictable that you’ll struggle initially, either not contacting the ball at the new strike point or doing so at the cost of velocity and direction. Although you know what to do, and the why and the how, it’s going to take time, effort and learning from mistakes before you’ll master the new stroke.  

It’s the same with organization leadership. You’ve been doing the same thing for years. Your habits are ingrained, and you’ve been successful. But as Marshall Goldsmith cautions, what got you here won’t necessarily get you there.

The transition period may be frustrating and perhaps even painful, yet as shared in the new book “Breakthrough,” which you can download for free here, the potential upside is tremendous.

One of Marshall Goldsmith’s fundamental coaching precepts is that a successful coaching engagement rests primarily on the person being coached, not the coach. It comes down to coachability, which Marshall states means demonstrating the following:

• Humility
• Courage; and
• Discipline

Humility is the willingness to accept the fact that no matter how successful you’ve been, you’re not perfect. There’s still room to improve. Courage means willingness to try things that will be outside your comfort zone. And discipline is the necessary follow-up and follow-through.

In coaching organization leaders, I have found that the first two characteristics, humility and courage, are often easier to come by than the last one, discipline. Yet if you as a coach or you as a leader being coached are serious about positive sustained change, perseverance is necessary.

You’ll probably have to hit a lot of forehands before the new approach becomes part of your game.

Best,

Jathan

Jathan Janove is a Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching Master Coach and Practice Leader. You can learn more about him here. If you have a question you’d like him to address, please email us at AsktheCoach@mgscc.net.