Great change comes in small steps
I can say without reservation that all my coaching clients want to make changes:
Their leadership style
Their confidence
Their employees' behavior
Their efficiency
They know that continuing their past behaviors will ensure that in the future, they will still:
Manage instead of lead
Shy away from challenges
Resent their employees
Feel incompetent
Yet, attempts to change usually fail because we all look for the magic bullet, life hack, or one secret ingredient. Lasting change comes when we build on the things we are doing right—the small, positive toe holds micro victories. And first, we have to notice those microscopic positive steps!
I had a recent coaching conversation with a new client. Let's call him Joe, and Joe was feeling overwhelmed. Joe had built a thriving business with many repeat clients, and he was running a one-man show. But Joe was behind on his invoicing, and that was the most glaring example of his self described his poor business skills.
Like many successful business owners, he spent so much time in the business that he neglected working on his business.
During our initial session, Joe explored ways to tackle his administrative tasks and decided to on two "experiments"; first, he would delay customer work by 20 minutes each morning and use that time to focus on administrative details. He would move his office out of the bedroom and into the dining room.
At the beginning of our second session, Joe shared his disappointment with himself. He hadn't spent 20 minutes every morning on his business, and his office was in the same place.
But Joe, because of our chat, he started thinking of minor changes; ways to build on what was working. Joe always prepared his client reports immediately after completing the work. He did not let anything get in the way of that. So Joe had started to take ten extra minutes when he prepared his final reports to prepare the client's invoice. In hindsight, this change seemed so obvious. He was surprised he hadn't done that before. Preparing the invoice when he had all the details in front of him saved him so much time and made him feel more professional.
Joe had been seeking one big solution, the magic bullet. But looking for small experimental changes allowed Joe to notice what he was doing well. He did get reports out on time, and building on that allowed Joe to find a new solution to a long term challenge. Joe found a sustainable and impactful way of making a change.
What positive micro-steps need to be highlighted in your life? Notice the small positive things you're doing now to create the future you want. Keep a journal of those steps, so they aren't overlooked. Celebrate building those positive nuggets into your life, see how your small changes ripple out. And if you want to support, give me a call or set up an appointment to explore what kind of future you want to create.