New year, new you! You let things slide a little over the holidays, and now it’s time to buckle down and start improving your life, and what better time to start than the beginning of a new year? It’s time for the January tradition of getting some new workout clothes, a nice pair of running shoes, joining a gym, downloading a fitness app, buying a Fitbit or other tracking device, and maybe signing up for one of those home delivery meal plans. This is the year you will do it and make it stick!
You already know how this story ends. You probably won’t make it out of January before the “new you” is just the old you with some nice gear and little less money. Stava, a social network used by athletes, analyzed the data from their 31 million users and determined the day when the average person breaks their resolution; January 12th. We don’t even make it two full weeks before we drift back into our old habits. It happens so often and quickly we barely notice or care that we failed. Have you ever heard anyone say, “I’m so bummed out that my New Year’s Resolution didn’t work. I really need to figure out what went wrong.”? Probably, not. We usually say, “Well, THAT didn’t work,” and move on with our lives.
And it’s not just our January 1st resolutions that fail. We could be motivated at any time during the year. After a lousy visit to the doctor, getting a little winded after a routine task, seeing a few extra pounds on the scale, or just noticing a less flattering look in the mirror. These events are more personal and impactful than the flipping of the calendar but typically don’t result in any more sustainable changes. Why is lasting personal change so hard to sustain? Is organizational change any different?
How many new processes, programs, or initiatives have you seen come and go at your company? It’s a safe bet that you have already started to hear about your company’s goals for improvement in 2020. These goals are usually something that we can all agree will make us a better organization in the future. This seems like a good plan, and we may WANT to make these changes, but it doesn’t take long before we say, “Well, THAT didn’t work,” and move on with our work lives. So how do we stick to our New Year’s resolutions at work? The same way we stick to our personal resolutions.
I recently read a blog called Harvard Health written by lecturer Dr. Marcelo Campos, where he shared five questions you should ask yourself to help you stick with your personal New Year’s resolution.
Notice how well these questions align with an organization's change management process. In change management parlance, this would read:
Don’t charge into 2020 with vague and lofty goals for improvement. Saying “I’m going to be healthier” isn’t any more helpful than saying “Target Zero.” A goal without a plan is just a wish, so have a good strategy to ensure success. Ensure you understand the answers to these questions before you embark on any improvement process to give yourself and your team the best chance for real, lasting change this year.
