We’re good at making new years resolutions. We’re lousy at making new years resolutions stick. A mere 8% of us succeed. As a gym rat, I see the evidence every year. Each January, the gym is suddenly, and expectedly, filled beyond capacity. It’s hard to find an open treadmill, elliptical or bike. By the end of January things return to normal. Make your new years resolutions stick As you cross the line into 2018, you might consider a different…

…back and self-reflection are essential for learning and for their success. New managers don’t have years of entrenched behaviors that they’ve associated with their achievements. So the coach and client aren’t arguing with success. New managers haven’t developed layers of thick skin required to lead effectively at senior levels. Thinner skin is more permeable. It leaves people more open to feedback, self-reflection and change. Coaching helps retain…

…oughts Actions Feelings Joy at being celebrated and rewarded for being the new kind of hero Encouraging and Rewarding New Heroes Each month peers and managers nominate new heroes. Monthly winners are publicly celebrated. They receive new hero emblems. In this case the reward features a Smokey the Bear type character who prevents bad outcomes. Make it fun and a big deal. We decide the Smokey t-shirt will be shot into the crowd, the way it’s done at…

…upbeat can-do attitude. She learned from family members who chose or faced new challenges and overcame obstacles along the way. We learn from new challenges – those that are thrust on us and those we seek. My great grandmother, widowed with four children at age 21, went to work, saved money and invested it well. Not something she, or her female contemporaries, were expected or taught to do. (Choosing resilience means taking risks, trying new thing…

…of relationships, slows and possibly paralyzes the organization. It takes years for a new web of relationships to be up and running effectively. #5 Beware of what you don’t know and don’t know to ask. Executives who disrespect experts’ knowledge and experience, or dismantle organizations prematurely, are destined to commit mistakes they could have avoided by listening to those who already know better. It’s more valuable to make new mistakes from…