There are a few key factors to ensure sustainable behavior change. Most people are focused on what they will gain by making a change, but there is always something they will lose as well. Bringing awareness to what they will have to give up--and making sure they're truly willing to pay that price--is essential. Otherwise it's easy to default back to old behaviors. When creating an action plan, a crucial question is "how are you most likely to self-sabotage or fail?" Conducting this kind of pre-mortem before taking on new behaviors can help identify the most predictable causes of failure, and identify a contingency plan to help ensure lasting change. Finally, identifying internal & external support & resources with accountability will help create an environment where the new behaviors are rewarded and incentivized to continue.
To ensure that the growth achieved in leadership coaching translates into lasting change, I encourage clients to leave each session with clear, actionable commitments. These commitments are intentionally designed to be small enough to feel manageable yet impactful enough to create meaningful progress. For example, one client wanted to build greater trust with their team. Their commitment was to always ask a clarifying question before addressing a team member's concern or offering a solution. This simple yet powerful action shifted their approach from telling to listening-fostering curiosity and creating a high ask-to-tell ratio. Over time, this practice strengthened trust and enhanced team dynamics. By focusing on practical actions rooted in curiosity and emotional intelligence, leaders can make sustainable behavioral shifts that improve both their performance and their team's.
One way that I work with leaders to ensure lasting changes in behavior and performance is to enlist the support of the sponsor or supervisor. As coaches, we know that behavior change is hard work. Behavior change takes time, and if it is not noticed and acknowledged by others, individuals can get discouraged and fall back into old patterns. At the Nebo Company, we involve the coaching client's sponsor or supervisor from the very beginning of the coaching engagement. In the first coaching session, I work with the client to identify the coaching objective and also define success for the coaching engagement. In our next session, we include the supervisor in the conversation so that the client has the chance to share the objective and definition of success and also receive and integrate feedback from the sponsor. This conversation is also an opportunity for the supervisor to ask the coaching client how they can best support the growth and learning that occurs through coaching. This is a great time for the coaching client and supervisor to agree how the coaching client will report in on progress of the coaching. Once the coaching engagement is completed, I schedule another conversation for the coaching client and their supervisor so that the client can report on progress towards the agreed upon coaching objective(s) and receive feedback from the supervisor. The coaching client and supervisor, supported by the coach, may also use this conversation to identify next steps for the client to maintain the behavior changes. With the structure outlined above, coaches can ensure that the supervisor sees themself as invested in the success of the coaching engagement from the very beginning - even though they are not included in the coaching conversations. The final conversation with the supervisor serves as another accountability mechanism in the coaching. It also serves as a reminder that the supervisor has a responsibility to develop their employees.