Yes, but.
It often happens in leadership, training and coaching conversations. ‘So – what will you do?’, or ‘What’s your next step?’ The person responds with, ‘I’ll do X’ or, ‘I plan to do Y’ and we both leave feeling satisfied we’ve reached a conclusion. Yet we check in a month later and, guess what: nothing has happened. It’s a bit like those New Years’ resolutions that are great in principle but vaporise in practice. What’s going on here? Is the answer here to press for detailed goals and action plans?
We could. We could also probe more deeply at the decision-action phase. Here are some samples of probing questions: ‘Given everything else on your plate at the moment, what is it going to take in practice to move this up your priority list?’, ‘Compared to everything else you could pour your time and energy into at the moment, what is going to make this most worthwhile for you/others?’ or ‘Who or what is likely to prevent you doing this in practice – and what can/will you do about that?’
We could think of these as contextual questions or dependencies. They feature as the reality-check in ‘GROW’ and ‘SMART’. Questions with more of a psychological orientation could include, e.g. ‘How much energy do you have for this?’ or, ‘How much do you really want this?’ or ‘On a scale of 1-10 how likely are you really to do this?’ We tend to use them, if at all, during the exploration phases of a conversation yet don’t often circle back at the end. It’s as if we take signs of decision at face value.
So, next time you reach the decision-action phase of a conversation, try a quick pause before you and the client stand up, shake hands and leave the room. Look – again – before you leap. If a person seems hesitant or lacks energy, go back to goals, aspirations, hopes and fears. How convinced is the person by their chosen route forward? How inspired do they feel to take the next step? Are there any relational, cultural, contextual or resource-linked realities that need revisiting first?
Retired
6yGreat discussion! When talking with a client in the decision-action phase, I find it also useful to examine the challenges/obstacles that might prevent them from following through, and have them think about if... then scenarios that will better prepare them for possible derailment (e.g. in the above example, a second helping of dessert) with a planned action that will help them stay on track.
Teacher
6yNick, great article! I love reading your thoughts.
While I work in aerospace I can't make a plane, but I can make people fly.
7yNick, I am glad to see an article that addresses why goals and resolutions are abandoned. As I listened to those that made resolutions, again, this year, I hear something deeper that they don't seem to recognize. Let's take weight loss, as an example. An individual I know shared with me their desire to lose a few pounds from their waistline this year. I asked if they had a plan. The responded with, "eat less and exercise more". This was accompanied by a second helping of dessert. As I observed I realized that the individual had not recognized the real problem that needed attention. It was not eating less and working out more, it was identifying motives for a desire to eat that second helping. It was the lack of conscious self-control to not succumb to the palette for another bite. It was overlooking the bigger problem being disguised by a result that was more obvious. The other problem? The goal was not to the self but to feel less insecure by comparison to another. Goals should come from internal motivators to improve the reflection in the mirror (mentally and physically); not external comparisons to those around us. - Tara
Covid Vaccinator at Haxby Group
7yAh yes, I too have witnessed this scenario, and in this instance, the problem was with alignment; both alignment and engagement are required for success. I agree that high levels of engagement with low levels of alignment can create problems, mayhem and conflict in an organisation. Clearly there needs to be a relationship both rational and emotional that occurs at all levels and that is equally important to all of them.
Covid Vaccinator at Haxby Group
7yHi Nick “Yet we check in a month later and, guess what: nothing has happened. It’s a bit like those New Years’ resolutions that are great in principle but vaporise in practice. What’s going on here?” The answer is simple; they just keep doing what they have always done!!. Its not that they don’t want to do what they have agreed to do, they just don’t care enough about the organisation to make it happen, in other words they are not truly engaged! You see this on a regular basis, people have good intentions, some may even start to instigate change, only to revert back to their ‘old ways’. If people’s mindsets were truly engaged with the ethos of the business they would willingly seek to understand why the business is moving in the direction it is and be totally committed to put in discretionary effort in to achieve it.