I have never heard of an elite athlete who does not practice. But I see thousands of executives who never practice their leadership.

Even worse: when coaching is offered to them, they get defensive. They think they are “sick.”
They believe you only practice when something is broken.

We all agree that “soft skills” are the most critical skills in the C-Suite. But how do we actually improve them?

Have you ever seen an athlete improve by going to a conference? Or by only reading a book? No.

In the corporate world, we love the illusion of progress. We do a 360° feedback survey. We discover our “blind spots.” And then what do we do? We read the report, nod our heads, and move on to the next email.

No athlete improves their game just by reading their statistics. They build a plan and put in the reps.

Changing an adult’s behavior is the hardest thing to do. You will not change it by understanding the theory. You will only change it by working daily with absolute intention.

Leadership is not a theory. It is a practice.

Here is the 5-step protocol my clients use to guarantee behavioral change:

1/ The Objective (Pick One Battle)

• The Concept: You cannot fix everything at once. If you try to improve 5 behaviors, you will improve zero. Focus is the currency of change.
• The Actionable Tool: The “Domino” Behavior Choose the ONE major leadership behavior that, if improved, will make everything else easier (e.g., “Delegating effectively” or “Listening without interrupting”).
• The Magic Phrase: “For the next 6 months, my single leadership priority is improving [Behavior X]. Everything else is secondary.”

2/ The Stakeholders (Your Witnesses)

• The Concept: You cannot accurately judge your own progress. You need a mirror. You need people who see you in action every day.
• The Actionable Tool: The “Personal Board” Select 6 to 12 people who interact with you regularly (your boss, peers, and direct reports).
• The Magic Phrase: “I am actively working on being a better leader, specifically in [Behavior X]. Because I respect your perspective, I would like you to be one of my stakeholders to help me improve.”

3/ The Follow-Up (Feedforward, not Feedback)

• The Concept: Feedback focuses on the past, which makes people defensive. “Feedforward” focuses on the future, which makes people constructive.
• The Actionable Tool: The “Monthly 5-Minute Ask” Do not wait for annual reviews. Every single month, go to your stakeholders and ask for advice for the next 30 days.
• The Magic Phrase: “I am working on [Behavior X]. We have a big project coming up next week. Can you give me two specific suggestions on how I can do this better?”

4/ The Plan (Ruthless Implementation)

• The Concept: Listening to advice is useless if you don’t change your schedule to accommodate it. An athlete adapts their drills based on the coach’s input.
• The Actionable Tool: The “80/20 Filter” You will receive a lot of suggestions. Do not try to do all of them. Pick the one suggestion with the highest potential impact and immediately put it on your calendar.
• The Magic Phrase: “Thank you for those suggestions. After having carefully reviewed all of them, I’ll focus on this one, and I’ll start this [Specific Action] in our meeting on Thursday.”

5/ The Measurement (The Reality Check)

• The Concept: You aren’t getting better just because you feel better. You are getting better when your stakeholders say you are getting better.
• The Actionable Tool: The “Pulse Survey” Every 6 months, send a simple, anonymous 2-question survey to measure real, perceived progress.
• The Magic Question: “On a scale of -3 (Got Worse) to +3 (Greatly Improved), how much has my [Behavior X] changed over the last 6 months?”

The Bottom Line

Changing a behavior is difficult. By following this process for 12 months, I have achieved a 100% success rate with my clients.

Are you ready to stop reading theory and start practicing leadership?

Let’s have a 15-minute talk to define your “One Battle.”
(PS: I am so confident in the athletes I coach that my coaching is guaranteed: you only pay if your stakeholders confirm you succeeded.)

Dror 🙏

PS: Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you accelerate your career through coaching:

For Aspiring Senior Leaders/C-Suite:

• Accelerate Your Path to Leadership: I help you create your big picture and build a plan to accelerate your path. Let’s schedule a 15-minute call to explore if we can work together.

For Current Senior Leaders/C-Suite:

Elevate Your Leadership Impact: You know even small refinements at your level can drive significant organizational results and career acceleration. I accompany you on your project and guarantee the result. Schedule a focused 15-minute discussion.