As leaders, we are tasked with helping the organization achieve specific outcomes. These outcomes could relate to various aspects, such as the culture, the environment, societal impact, or organizational commitments like profit, sales, or customer centricity. Whatever the outcome may be, the key to achieving it is delivering results. Everything hinges on whether we achieve the necessary results to reach those outcomes.

Here’s the crucial point: results come from the behaviors of individuals. No matter what business we are in, everything is ultimately the result of what people do. For example, even in a highly automated factory with robots, someone has to design and program those robots. The behavior of people is what drives results.

Now, we can enhance those behaviors to some extent by providing tools, but we must be careful not to overemphasize the importance of the tools. The tools are there to support and improve behavior, not to replace it.

Given that behavior influences results, how do we change behavior? The most significant factor influencing behavior is leadership. The way a leader communicates, guides, coaches, and empowers their team has a profound impact on how people behave. A leader’s clarity, direction, and empowerment play a critical role in shaping the behaviors of their team members. Strong leadership can drive improved behavior, which in turn leads to better results.

Additionally, we can provide individuals with extra skills to help improve their abilities, which will positively affect their behavior. However, as leaders, we must remember that to improve results, we need to focus on changing the behavior of our people.

To do this effectively, we must focus on the leaders within the organization—frontline supervisors, managers, directors, vice presidents, and other key leaders at various levels of the hierarchy. These leaders are the ones who directly influence the behaviors of their teams. Therefore, it is essential to help these leaders acquire the necessary skills and capabilities to foster behavior change. By empowering our leaders to guide and support their teams effectively, we can drive behavior change, improve results, and ultimately achieve the desired outcomes for the organization.