5 Secrets of Behavioral Coaching: From The Secrets of Leadership Coaching

Behavioral Coaching is a coaching methodology that identifies and works to modify the “behaviors” of the Leaders we are Coaching – should our Coaching determine these behaviors are impediments to achieving our Leader’s personal and professional success.  Behavioral Coaching is closely tied to Perceptual Coaching as the behaviors we are changing are often the outcomes of self or other perceptions of our behaviors.  Here are five secrets I have learned about Behavioral Coaching that may assist you in your Coaching efforts: 

1. 100 Days: There is something magical about 100 days in the human mind.  We can work hard with our Leaders to free them from their current behaviors but then, within 100 days, they tend to either go back to their old behaviors or freeze the new behaviors in their “preferred” actions. Therefore, if you are trying to change a behavior, use this 100-day magic to your benefit.  Set your behavior change objectives to realize significant “wins” within those first 100 days.   
2. Communicate: It is imperative that the Leader you are Coaching to communicate clearly to both themselves and the world which behavior they are trying to modify – and why!  First, communicating their intent will create a public “accountability” component to their behavior change objective.  Second, the “why” component” of the behavior change communicates the benefits of the behavior change to the Leader and the world.   
3. Demonstrate: At the end of the day, your Leader’s intent is empty without sustained “demonstration” of the new behavior.  Early on in the Behavioral Coaching, we might expect sporadic, inconsistent demonstration of the new behavior, but over time, we would expect the new behavior to become the “new norm” for the Leader.   
4. Measure:  Peter Drucker, who many consider the greatest management thinker of all time, is often quoted as saying “If you can’t measure it, then you can’t improve it!” Toward this objective, identify ways of measuring the target behavior and then track either the increase or decrease of that behavior – depending upon if you want more or less of that behavior.     
5. Celebrate: John Kotter, in his acclaimed book “Leading Change,” directs us to celebrate both the small and big achievements of our change leadership activities.  Using our Emotional Intelligence (EQ) as Coaches, we should follow Kotter’s advice and make sure we are taking time to slow down and celebrate.  With an eye on our long-term Goals, we should also celebrate the achievement of intermediate Objectives and short-term Key Results. 

 Good luck to you and your Team! If there is ANYTHING my team and I can do to assist you in realizing your goals, objectives, and key results, reach out to us at 2RL@FlatterInc.com. If you find these blogs valuable, please link to us at www.FlatterInc.com so that others may absorb the same insights. Likewise, please listen to our weekly Podcast, with distinguished guests from the Coaching world, published every Thursday at noon, Eastern Time (USA) at The Secrets of Leadership Coaching.  Finally, I am personally interested in hearing your feedback – so please send your thoughts directly to me at JR.Flatter@FlatterInc.com.