In the world of Leadership, one of our Primary Goals is to Make things Better.

Whether it is Improving our own Lives, or Improving our Teams and the Overall Business, the Goal is to Get Better.

However, to Improve and Get Better there is a Truth that exists - You will need to Change Current Behaviors to get Access to the Next Level.

If things didn't Need to Change, You'd Already be at that Next Goal!

However, people Constantly Struggle to Achieve Change in their Lives.

Why is this?

Well, some Researchers looked into many of the common factors people discuss around Behavior Change.

What they discovered is that there are 2 Major Things that are Best at Driving Change.

What are those?

Well, the First One is something I have talked about Many Times in my Articles because I "Know" Exactly how Powerful it is.

How do I Know?

It "Literally" Runs my Life.

What is it?

Habits.

Most people think that Habits are about "Diligence" and "Dedication", but the Scientific Reality is that this is Horribly Incorrect.

Habits are all about Laziness!

I have talked about this before in my articles, "The Laziness Myth" and "You're Lazy And That's Good!"

From a Mitochondrial Energy (Mg-ATP) Perspective, Habits are a way to Complete a Behavior with the Least Amount of Energy Use.

Aka, it's our Body's Way of being Lazy to get Results!

Everyone is "Lazy" as a Matter of Biology, our Body seeks to Use the "Least" Amount of Energy in Everything it Does.

The Difference between getting Results or Not has to do with whether we have Built Habits (Use the Least Amount of Energy, aka are Lazy) in the Direction of the Results we Want.

What the Research shows is that when we try to Change Behavior "without" Habits (aka being Lazy), our Bodies Struggle to Accomplish the Change.

This makes Sense.

If Habits Reduce Energy use, and our Bodies desire Energy Conservation, then anything that Isn't a Habit is viewed as a "Threat" to Energy Levels.

So, our Bodies put up Defenses to Not Waste Energy.

If we want Behavior to Change, we have to Build Habits so we Stop Wasting Energy.

Usually, the key here is to Start Small so that your Body "Begins" to form a Habit without setting off the Alarms, and as it becomes a Habit (avg. of 66 Days based on Research) you can Increase what the Habit Entails.

So, let's say that you want to Change your Diet.

It is "Easier" to change by Adding 1 Small Improved Diet Change "Every" Day to start (Thereby avoiding the Trigger) and then Adding "More" better Options as this becomes a Habit than it is to do a 100% Change in Diet Overnight (which ofter Triggers "All" of the Threat Signals in the Body).

Once you have made a Habit, it is significantly easier to stick with, and it is harder to Stop Doing (because it becomes more Energy Intensive to stop the Behavior!).

What is the Second Thing Needed to Change Behavior?

Access.

What does this mean?

People need "Access" to whatever is involved that allows the Change to happen.

For Instance...

If you want a better Diet, you need Access to Non-Processed Foods.

If you want to Improve your Fitness, you need Access to Machines, Tools, and Workouts to allow that to happen.

This is actually why Running is the common go-to for Fitness - It requires very little to "Access" it as a form of Fitness.

When people do "Not" have Access, they generally will not Change.

According to the Research, Access is more important than "Anything" Else.

If you Do Not have Access, Change is Rare.

So what does this mean for Leaders?

Well, if you are trying to Change your Team or Organization, and you are Struggling, one of these 2 Reasons is the Most Likely Problem you have.

Many Leaders enact Changes, without providing the Proper "Access" to allow those Changes to Occur.

This may sound Completely Silly, but we just heard about this happening with Dell in their Utterly Failed Return-To-Office "Mandates".

One of the (Many) Complaints Employees had was that they had No Viable Location to Return To.

It is Extremely Difficult to get Employees to Return to an Office that Does Not Exist.

Again, it sounds Silly, but it happens "Very" Frequently.

I once worked at an Organization where the Accounts Receivable Team was expected to Collect Multiple 6-Figure Overdue Bills from a Customer.

Sounds Simple Enough...

Only to discover that the Organization had signed "New" Contracts with the Customer, before the Customer's Previous Net Terms (of 6 Months) were up, saying the Customer Did "Not" Need to Pay Any of their Old Bills...

It's Hard to Collect on Bills that a Customer hasn't Paid when Legally they No Longer Need to Pay It.

Sounds Silly, but I see things like this all the time.

(PS - the Justification for the "New" Contract was that these were such "Good" Clients that New Business would be "Worth It"... even though the Client had "Never" Paid a Previous Bill due to this Loophole)

If Employees "Do" have Access (In Reality not in Theory), then the Next most likely Problem is that the Leader has not set up a way to turn the Changes Desired into Habits.

If you just expect people to "Change" because you told them to, then you've fallen into the Oldest Leadership Failure in the Game.

People Rarely do "Anything" because they are Told To.

People are Frequently told about how Bad Cigarettes, Processed Food, Sugary Drinks, Drugs, Alcohol, and Gambling are but does that Stop People?

No.

The Reality is that "Telling" People things, even when True, does not Create Change.

However, as a Leader, if you Help people Create Systems that Establish Habits "Then" Change becomes Simple.

When Leaders Combine Access and Habits, then Change is almost Guaranteed.

"Almost".

There is One, small, Caveat to this Rule.

If the people you Oversee have "No" Desire or Energy (Mg-ATP) to Change, then they Will Not.

You could give them "All the Access" and Establish all the "Best Methods" to Create Habits, but if there is No Desire or Energy (often these are Intertwined), then they Will Not Change.

This is Why I advocate for Leaders to Design a Regenerative Legacy.

Most Employees (80%) have No Energy (Mg-ATP) due to Burnout, which also means they have No Desire to Change.

This goes back to what I was saying about Energy Conservation before.

When we Do Not have "Enough" Energy (Mg-ATP), then All Change becomes Impossible.

Without Energy, we also have No Desire, which puts Leaders in an Impossible Predicament.

"Unless" the Leader Fixes the Burnout Problem First.

If you Fix Burnout, then you can Enact the Changes you Need to Succeed.

When Employees have Plenty of Energy (Mg-ATP), then their Desire to Improve Dramatically Increases, and when you give them Access and the Groundwork for Habits, the Change you seek will almost become Inevitable.

There may be an Individual or Two who "Truly" Never wanted to Change or Improve, but they are the Outliers as Opposed to the Norm.

Most People want Better Lives.

If you as a Leader discover that, even with Proper Access and the Groundwork for Proper Habits, you Still Struggle to get the Change you seek, your Problem is "Most" Likely Energy (Mg-ATP).

As it is for Nearly All Leaders Today.

But, if you want Success, then Changes in Behavior become Necessary.

Your Role as a Leader is to Create the Conditions that "Allow" Positive Change to Occur.

For this, You need Energy (Mg-ATP), Access, and Habits.

It is that Simple.

The 2 Things You Need To Change Behavior

Plus Implementing Change As A Leader

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