Leaders create change. They inspire others. They bring new futures into existence.

But most change efforts in organizations fail.

What are these leaders missing?

What makes people change their behavior?

It’s simple. When the way things show up for people change, their behavior changes.

Have you ever had a light bulb moment where you suddenly believed you could do something, so you started?

But most leaders don’t create that positive expectation of something good happening for their team. They often don’t even know what their team really wants, or what would make them motivated if it was part of the outcome.

If you don’t know the good things your people might want, you can’t incorporate it into the plan.

And if it’s not in the plan, they don’t have hope of attaining it.

You see, the critical ingredient in changing behaviors is ALWAYS Hope.

Hope is that positive confident expectation that you are going to get what you want.

How do people lose weight when can change your habits, and see approximately nothing happening for weeks on end? You’re hungry now, but that great body you want is months away, if ever.

How do people successfully train for marathons when they can’t even run a quarter mile on their first day out? You’re huffing and puffing like mad, and you’re not even at 1%.

If they didn’t believe they could achieve their goals, they wouldn’t start.

What gets you through the gap? Hope.

Hope is not irrational. It can’t be manufactured out of thin air that many times. Eventually reality sets in.

If you take the time to learn what your people really want, and you can help them see a path towards it through the actions you want them to take, they will be hopeful, and that hope will unleash energy and possibility.

People with real hope don’t count the costs. They don’t play by halves. They put it all out, and they push beyond what’s required or even requested.

But if you break your word, watch out.

When your people stop trusting you, they won’t have hope that they’ll get what they want. That spark will go out, and that extra energy isn’t going to come out next time.

Instead of a sparkle in their eyes, you’ll hear resigned acquiescence. “Sure, we’ll do it.”

If you want your people to change something, give them a real path towards what they want, and help them see that they can get it.

Give them real hope. And follow through. Keep your promises.

If you do that, they’ll do just about anything for you, and they’ll follow you where you want them to go after that.