Practicing Organization Development: Leading Transformation and Change, 4th Edition

Chapter FifteenIndividual Development in Organization Development

Making Change Stick

Marshall Goldsmith

Successful leaders can achieve positive, long-term, measurable change in behavior for themselves, their people, and their teams. While behavioral coaching is only one branch in the coaching field, it is the most widely used type of coaching for individual development. There is nothing more important in organization development (OD) than positive role modeling from the leaders of the company. When leaders' behaviors vary from the desired behavior in the OD intervention, the intervention will not work. When leaders' behaviors are aligned with the needed behavior for the OD intervention, the odds on successful implementation are much greater.

Does behavioral coaching work? Can people really change their behavior? The answer is definitely yes. At the top of major organizations, even a small positive change in behavior can have a big impact. From an organizational perspective, that the executive is trying to change leadership behavior (and is being a role model for personal development) may be even more important than what the executive is trying to change. One key message I have given every CEO I coach is, “To help others develop—start with yourself.”

When the steps in the coaching process described in this chapter are followed, leaders can achieve positive behavioral change—not as judged by themselves, but as judged by preselected, key stakeholders. While this process can be ...