Struggling to Make Key Behaviors Stick in Your Organization?
It’s another great book giveaway.
20 copies available!!
Leave a comment on this guest post by Dr. Julie M. Smith and Dr. Lori Ludwig to become eligible for one of 20 complimentary copies of their new book, Vital Behavior Blueprint: 5 Steps to Embed Mission-Critical Habits Into Your Organization’s DNA.
Deadline for eligibility is 11/03/2024. International winners receive electronic versions.
Inconsistent behaviors can derail your improvement efforts. Maybe you’re:
- A process improvement specialist aiming for adoption of new workflows.
- An executive driving a strategic initiative requiring new ways of working.
- A team leader who needs direct reports to follow work standards consistently.
“Getting key behaviors to become habits can feel like herding cats.”
Vital Behaviors: The Key to Consistency
Fortunately, there’s a proven way to embed good habits: focus on Vital Behaviors—the few, high-impact actions that drive the most significant results.
“Performance skyrockets when you focus on Vital Behaviors: the 20% of repetitive actions that produce 80% of targeted results.”
The Vital Behavior Blueprint is an easy, streamlined way to turn Vital Behaviors into durable habits.
The Blueprint helps you and your teams:
Pinpoint Behavior-Powered Results
Identify which business results suffer when employees do things their own way. Where could consistent actions make a big impact on the outcomes of your strategic initiatives, work processes, and daily operational excellence?
Discover the Vital Behaviors Needed
Narrow your focus to the critical 20% of behaviors that generate 80% of your desired results. For example, surgical teams can reduce deaths by 47% by always following 19 steps on a World Health Organization checklist. Focus on the vital few versus the trivial many.
Build Ally Networks to Turn Vital Behaviors into Sustainable Habits
Habit formation needs support. Unfortunately, only 30% of employees receive the 3 Pillars of essential performance support (1) clear expectations, (2) actionable feedback, and (3) barrier removal.
What makes it difficult for you to form new habits in your organization?
About Julie and Lori:
Dr. Julie M. Smith and Dr. Lori Ludwig are co-founders of Performance Ally. They have dedicated their careers to developing innovative ways to create lasting, large-scale organizational behavior change. Their groundbreaking methodologies and project results have garnered global awards.
Their new book, Vital Behavior Blueprint: 5 Steps to Embed Mission Critical Habits into Your Organization’s DNA, and free templates provide a streamlined way for any leader and team to turn Vital Behaviors into organizational habits. Additional self-guided workshops and interactive tools ensure your organization becomes self-sufficient in developing Behavior Blueprints to improve any result. Click here to learn more.
Sounds fascinating.
Wow – makes me want to READ THE BOOK !!!
Need this book on my reading list
I am working on these behaviors in my organization. These book sounds extremely helpful in helping me set goals and achieve my desired results.
I am managing key digitalization orojects in our social/healthcare organization and am therefore deeply interested in promoting new key behaviours. I‘m pretty curious about the book!
It’s sometimes hard to to have people establish habits when they’re part time. For instance, my social media specialist is part-time, and works mainly on Monday and Wednesday but I’ve also given her flexibility as long as the assigned work gets done. Her time sheet is due on Friday, and she frequently forgets to submit it. I have to remind her, and I think a lot of it has to do with her not thinking about it after she gets done with work on Wednesday, even if she splits that time later in the week.
She’s also a full-time college student, and maybe everything she’s doing there is keeping her from remembering.
I’m going to look at the three things listed here and see if they can help.
Our company is working to create a culture shift which is proving to be extremely challenging.
It seems so obvious when you read it put so simply! I’d be delighted to read this book.
Wow! It seems like a surgical yet simple approach to big results. I’d be thrilled to receive the book!
I have recently spearheaded a culture change and am interested in reading this to find out other ways to accomplish this.
These pillars sound amazing, yet so simple. I think this is definitely a need in my organization.
Definitely a must read for the management team in my organization!
This can be even more complicated to do when dealing with new processes, and employees that have already been doing things their own way for years. Its extremely difficult to break that habit and help them understand why the new process is not only required, but better.
This information should be used in schools to improve performance and streamline inefficiency.
I love the idea of these consistent behaviors leading to results. We have these struggles in our organization and I would love guidance on changing the paradigm!
The 3 pillars of essential performance support will be part of my annual performance reviews this year.
Sounds like a great read with some simple concepts!
Focusing on what behaviors get results – awesome!
I love streamlined, clear information and this book seems to have exactly that! It’s on my list of must reads!
Would love to learn more on this to share with my leadership team.
Sounds like a great book and I’d love to read it and put it to work in our company.
When you are trying to establish a new behavior you often need a reminder like the buzzer in my car reminds me to fasten my seat belt. Once the new behavior become a true habit you no longer need to reminder.
I would like to read more. Can any winner choose the electronic version?
As an emerging leader, I see how I could benefit from this so that I get both my team and myself off to a positive start. I’d like to read this for sure.
This is, and always has been an ongoing struggle. Eager to read more on this topic.
I’m working on some of these behaviors in my company now. These book sounds extremely helpful in helping me set goals and achieve my desired results.
It’s difficult to form new habits when the leadership doesn’t practice them consistently or reinforce them.
I just wrote down the three pillars to use in my 1:1’s! Perfect summary to remind me of what I should be doing with my team on the daily!
Thank you for the post! I will have to check out the book!
Agree – this books seems like a must read – something we struggle with at my organization!
VERY relevant! My company is instituting several new programs and updates in 2025. We have adopted Adobe Workfront, upgrading our Workbench tool and developing work flow process for product management…all require change and adoption…..would love to read this..thanks..Mark VP of Efficiency.
I like the 20% generates 80% notion. Makes things like this less daunting.
Love this! Big opportunity for my organization and, I would guess, many others.
Perfect timing – I’m struggling with bullet points 1 and 3 right now.
After 26 years of one president, our new president has been in place for a little over a year now, and working to assess the organization – processes, culture, budget, and more. As a result of 26 years within the same departments (silos?) the shift to openness and willingness to make changes is a real challenge. The consistency reference reminds me of my morning workout. Motivation to get out of bed at 4:30am is generally not super great; the habit of doing so is what makes it happen, and I always feel better after. Consistency in how we behave at work, and hold others accountable, can improve our product, processes, efficiencies and relationships. How to lead through this is something I am working to learn and model.
This is a problem in many organizations, especially when there is a lot of turnover at the employee and supervisor level. Expectations are not consistent and you are constantly in the “rebuilding” phase. This book sounds great and I would love to read it!
This is intriguing. One of the hardest things to do is implement procedural change across several interwoven “divisions” of our company.
Adding this book to my reading list.
Great read! Definitely will read this book!
In my 35 years in Human Resources, I have found the two biggest barriers to performance are leaders who do not establish clear expectations and leaders who are unwilling to provide adequate, timely feedback. In both cases, these leaders are being unclear. As the saying goes, to be unclear is to be unkind. I love the concepts in this book!
I am a “process improvement specialist aiming for adoption of new workflows.”
I agree that identifying and defining the critical behaviours is the first key step.
I’ll agree that setting very clear expectations is also key, along with consequences (good and/or bad).
As well, Feedback – letting people know how they are doing compared to the stated expectations is also very important.
I’m not sold on “removing barriers” as the last ingredient.
Sure barriers need removed, however that is not enough to gain commitment to the new behavior.
As Leadership Freak is a 300-word blog, I’ll give plenty benefit of the doubt that the summary of the points is not all there is to it.
From my experience, I’d suggest that to make key behaviors stick I’d need:
1. Properly define the key behaviors (includes figuring them out and how to clearly set expectations around them)
2. Set and enforce consequences (include both positive and negative)
3. Create “desire” beyond the target of compliance (most likely as challenging as getting consensus on what the desired behaviors are. This involves removing barriers, giving feedback, proper training, and other “change management factors, etc.)
So true in all workplaces. I am in education, and it is key for not only teachers, but students as well.
“Performance skyrockets when you focus on Vital Behaviors: the 20% of repetitive actions that produce 80% of targeted results.” So, So True. Thanks for sharing today!
“Yes, and…” create a psychologically safe environment where people are free to push back, provide feedback, ask question, come up with alternate solutions… this will only enrich the culture and the end results.
I would love to add this book to my collection!!!
I truly appreciated today’s article. My team is tasked with trying out new processes and sometimes the biggest challenge is while going through different pilots and tests to not lose the key good habits. Or use the excuse of a new tests to not focus on what’s important. Thank you for the valuable information!!!
This is an area that needs consistent attention. Interested in their perspective!
This would be something I can see a value to study and implement in my workplace.
The 3 Pillars of essential performance support (1) clear expectations, (2) actionable feedback, and (3) barrier removal… LOVE this!! Many essential nuggets to ponder in this read. Very insightful!
I work in a public K-12 school system where, much like the healthcare system, we are fortunate to have dedicated teachers who do things their own way, in silos of departments that amplify that tendency. Would this approach work in a school? Our “customers” are more varied that in business. New strategic initiatives come and go, based on legislative and administrative whims. “Goals” identified by the state, boards, administrators, teachers and parents are often in conflict. I look forward to hearing more about this.
Hello Cara, I have worked in K12 for 40+ years. These, and many other ideas on this platform work well in our setting. You just have to adapt them to whatever situation you have. Good Luck!
It’s interesting that this topic should come up now. I have been with the organization that I am with for 22 years. The pandemic uncovered some structural challenges in they way we do things that we are only just now able to identify. As a team supervisor, it’s my job to identify and correct pattern behaviors that are causing the problems we are experiencing now. The main issue? The people on our teams not following standardized processes – or, not following the standard way of putting forth a different way to do something. This sounds like it will be required reading for me.
Love the book give aways, great way to increase our awareness!
YES!!! I need a blueprint. So many starts and stops…
Putting this book on my list!
Thank you for this powerful post.
I work with a lot of schools who have committed to recalibrating their culture (Shoutout to Jimmy Casas) and the idea of choosing what’s most important is so necessary. I would love to read this book and learn more about the vital few vs. the trivial many. Thanks!
This sounds like a great resource for both experienced and new leaders!
You’ve highlighted a powerful approach for leaders to achieve sustainable change by focusing on “Vital Behaviors”—the critical few actions that drive the most impact. Embedding these key behaviors as habits through clear expectations, actionable feedback, and support networks is an essential strategy for ensuring consistent, high-level performance across teams. The Vital Behavior Blueprint offers a clear and practical roadmap to help organizations make lasting improvements, and I plan to apply these concepts to my current role. Thanks for the valuable insights!
AS a new manager I would learn how in 5 steps that I can get behaviors into lasting habits. Having lasting behaviors could make your work area run so smoothly. This could be a great resource.
Sounds like a great book and I will share it with my clients wanting new strategic plans
This comes as I sit to write over 30 performance reviews! It is motivating for these conversations. As someone mentioned above, it is challenging when the team has been around for a while and doesn’t want to see the change as something good, but following the 3 steps could help to motivate them to give changes a chance!
“only 30% of employees receive the 3 Pillars of essential performance support (1) clear expectations, (2) actionable feedback, and (3) barrier removal.” Can’t wait to read more!
Wow! Would I love to get my employees to provide consistency and productivity, instead of their methods! My number one goal is to become a better leader! I believe this book could help me towards that goal.
Great intro…would love to hear/read more on this topic.
This topic is so relevant for both me as a leader, and for the team of educational consultants I am lucky enough to lead. Thanks for sharing! Would love to get a copy of this book! 😊
Looking forward to reading this one. Great approach to focus on what brings the most value.
Very good information to change my mindset on how I can better build an already high performing team into the team that makes the most impact in not only perform well.
Looking forward to reading this book.
Color me intrigued. Will be very interested in perusing this topic via Vital Behavior Blueprint!
What I have found interesting is that when you talk to leaders about addressing a behavior, there is a fear that they can’t talk about the behavior – instead they can only talk about the policy and what the employee didn’t do. When you define organizational appropriate behavior, it makes having critical conversations easier. You don’t need to show up with a list of things that the person didn’t do, instead it is showing up and helping the employee to see how their behavior impacts their success in doing their work – and the others around them.
I am a clinical coordinator in a professional internship program. I spend quite a bit of time coaching students on professional behavior and expectations. Definitely putting this on my reading list.
One thing that makes it difficult to form positive habits in our organization is the complexity of the work. I am a school superintendent at a small rural school district. Because of that, the people in our school wear multiple hats and play many roles throughout the day. That makes our work incredibly complex… which in my outlook means that positive habits are even more important. Habits can help us streamline some activities- returning phone calls, reading and answering emails, etc.- so that we are able to focus on the real reason we’re here- to benefit our students and community.
There have been obstacles put in place that I have inherited as a supervisor and can only be accountable for my own actions in the process. I easily blame myself and feel as if I have failed my team. I certainly provide all the support and take time to sit with staff to go over a procedure and to always make them feel like they can ask questions or seek clarification. I have found that some people don’t like change and aren’t able to adapt. Or aren’t trusting of the process. Realizing that trust and building rapport with a team takes time, it certainly feels like we make some progress in forming new habits that drive their success. I then find that some staff lack integrity and would rather take the easy route which can create errors. It can especially be frustrating when continued resources and in-person support are readily available at their fingerprints, and they continue to still not seek it.
The topic of the book is not limited to employers. It would help board of nonprofit organizations (I am president of two) which rely primarily on volunteers, schools, and heck, evern leaders in government!
As a retail management leader this sounds like the answer to the my constantly asked question, “how to get my team to engage with customers in a way that creates a great existence for both customer and employee”.
I’m a member of a non-profit board! I just ordered the book! Can’t wait to read it!
As a second-year person in my position – I can definitely relate to the challenges promoting and reinforcing positive habits. Many people are afraid to leave their comfort zone – they fear change. This book sounds like it addresses exactly what my leadership team and I need!
Sounds like a great resource
I’m in compliance and this would be a valuable asset.
This post brings to mind the importance of establishing sustainable, mission-critical habits, especially when driving meaningful change within an organisation. In construction, where standards and consistency are essential, embedding key behaviours is critical to fostering an inclusive and effective work environment. I recently explored this in my own article on promoting more women in construction, Promoting More Females in the Construction Sector (https://medium.com/@paulbrothwood/promoting-more-females-in-the-construction-sector-0ba20b781c96), where I highlighted actionable steps to support diverse talent and reshape industry culture.
The “Vital Behavior Blueprint” method of focusing on a few high-impact actions aligns with this approach, ensuring that vital behaviours become part of an organization’s DNA. Embedding behaviours like mentorship and career visibility can create lasting, positive change—a method I believe is essential across sectors. Excited to dive deeper into the strategies from Dr. Smith and Dr. Ludwig’s new book to enhance these practices further.
Sounds like a great resource. We have been struggling with consistency. We have some great ideas from our leadership team, but getting them into action is a challenge, and if we do implement them, they seem short-lived. I feel we have been battling with complacency from some of our leaders and it needs to start with them first before we can expect our team to adapt better habits.
Consistency is the key to creating great organization leadership habits. Remember the the investment of your time is correlational not causational. Stop trying to look for immediate change, be persistent and have faith. Culture change is process not an event.
Working through lots of change mgmt at my current org. This post was very timely and insightful. Would definitely be interested in a copy of the book to learn more and deep dive into the 5 steps.
I am an elementary teacher leading a team of teachers in a combined 4th-6th grade classroom. We have 34 students and hope to grow our enrollment next year and split into two classrooms. I am the only certified teacher on the team. One has teaching experience with high school students and is in the process of getting certified, one is an experienced assistant who has been in the classroom for 8 years and the other has experience teaching preschool. We are struggling as a team to be consistent with our classroom expectations and discipline strategies. We are also trying to figure out the best way to share the teaching duties so we all share our talents and the children receive the best from us. I need help and I think stepping outside of the Montessori box I am in might help me grow as a leader. This books sounds like it could be part of the answer.
We have a new principal, new buildings being built (old ones torn down while we have school every day), and new curriculum district wide and stakeholders could benefit from these steps to create a consistent habits that can transform the environment. As an instructional coach, I can model the importance of collaboration and communication. Embracing a culture of shared values and empathy can be the foundation that enables change. This book sounds very applicable to our community. Thank you for sharing the information.
This aligns well with implementing PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) in education. Involving students in developing clear expectations is a primary pillar! Adults acknowledging (providing feedback) on students demonstrating those expectations is another critical component! Using data to determine how well students AND adults are doing allows for the uncovering of the barriers you note! Sounds like a GREAT book!
Thanks everyone for your encouraging comments! Both Lori and I are pleased to hear that Vital Behaviors will be helpful across so many industries and applications. You can learn more and get free resources at vitalbehaviorblueprint.com. Enjoy!