Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith Book Summary

 

Have you ever tried to change your own behavior?  For example – eating healthier, exercising more, watching less TV, spending more time with a family member, staying calm in day-to-day interactions, etc.  Think about your last attempt to change your behavior to achieve any one of these goals?  How did it go?  Were you successful?  I am willing to bet that the answer is no.  Changing our ingrained behaviors and habits is one of the most difficult things to do.   

 

Why is behavior change for adults so difficult? Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith’s book summary will clarify the reasons we don’t become the person we dream of becoming. In his bestselling book titled “Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts-Becoming the Person You Want to Be” author Marshall Goldsmith attempts to find answers to the puzzle, like how to change our own behaviors to become the person we want to become. 

 

I will explore the book Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith Book and summarize the main ideas. Marshall Goldsmith is the number one executive coach to top CEOs from Fortune 500 companies and has helped them change and become better leaders. In his bestselling book titled “Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts-Becoming the Person You Want to Be” author Marshall Goldsmith attempts to find answers to the puzzle, like how to change our own behaviors to become the person we want to become. 

Why don’t we do what we know we want to do? Get in shape, spend more time with our families, learn new skills, achieve personal and career growth, be more patient, etc. We carry these wishes and dreams with us for years, and we really want to achieve them.  Why don’t we become the person we dream of becoming? Why can’t we get ourselves to do all the things that are required to achieve these dreams? Why is behavior change for adults so difficult? 

 

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In Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith Book Summary, I will share a few ideas that I found very useful

 

A trigger is any stimulus that affects our behavior. We are often unaware or underestimate the effect that the triggers in our environment and our beliefs create on our behavior.   

Although self-improvement literature may make it sound very easy, behavior change is one of the most difficult things for human beings to achieve. Because no one can change the behavior of a reasonably successful and comfortable adult unless they themselves want to change. 

 

Belief triggers that prevent lasting change – from Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith Book Summary

 

• If I understand, I will do knowing hardly ever translates into doing. We know a lot of things we should do but somehow we rarely do it. 
• I have willpower and won’t give in to temptation. – We often overestimate our willpower and underestimate the power of triggers in our environment to tempt us away from our good behavior. 
• I can do it on my own, and I don’t need help or structure. We harbor the wish and make futile attempts to exercise more and get fit. Although our track record says that we can’t do it on our own, we are hesitant to ask for help or structure. Hiring a personal trainer will help provide the much-needed help and structure and increase our chances of success by an order of magnitude. 
• I have the wisdom to accurately evaluate my own behavior – Just like it is difficult to cut our own hair, it is extremely difficult for us to see our own behavior accurately. We can never be completely objective with our own selves. We need objective feedback from others on our own behaviors. 

 

Identifying our triggers 

 

A behavioral trigger is any stimulus that impacts our behavior. Behavioral triggers can be classified as  

• direct or indirect 
• internal or external 
• conscious or unconscious 
• anticipated or unexpected 
• encouraging or discouraging 
• productive or counterproductive 

 

The last two are the most important types of triggers. If we are trying to exercise more, try to find which triggers in our environment are encouraging or discouraging, productive or counterproductive. Putting the gym gear right next to your bed is an encouraging and productive trigger to make you think about going to the gym and working out.  Our large screen TVs, comfy sofas, a pantry full of junk food may be discouraging and unproductive triggers. 

 

The power of active questions – from Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith Book Summary

 

Passive questions leave a wiggle room to shift the blame to situations, circumstances, and people while active questions put the responsibility on us. For instance – a passive question is Do you have clear goals? The active version of the same question is – Did I do my best to set clear goals today? This question puts the responsibility on me to do whatever is reasonably possible to set clear goals. 

 

Ask the six active questions effective in helping us change our behaviors

 

1. Did I do my best to set clear goals today? 
2. Did I do my best to make progress toward my goals today? 
3. Did I do my best to find meaning today? 
4. Did I do my best to be happy today? 
5. Did I do my best to build positive relationships today? 
6. Did I do my best to be fully engaged today? 

 

We are over-optimistic goal setters and planners but underwhelming doers!   

 

The daily questions allow us to raise awareness about the triggers and our own behaviors. Over time, after many reminders, we learn and adapt. We understand what works and what doesn’t and eventually change successfully.

 

AIWATT 

 

We all have busy lives. Change requires time, effort, and commitment. A useful question to ask is  

AIWATT – Am I Willing At This Time To ……. And fill in whatever behavior we are trying to change. If the answer is no, then let it go.  

 

Read: What stops intelligent, hard-working and driven leaders from reaching the next level of career success?

 

The circle of engagement 

 

 

Some environmental triggers are under our control and we can reduce or eliminate them. In this connected world where we live, we are constantly bombarded by triggers. Many of them are difficult to eliminate. Advertisements, social media, societal norms, people in our lives – we cannot eliminate completely. 

Here is where our awareness and choice come into play. Between stimulus and response, there is a choice.  We don’t have to become the puppets of our environmental triggers – we can use our awareness and choice to pick a more constructive behavior in response to any trigger. Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith Book Summary gets its name from these environmental influences.

 

In conclusion – Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith Book Summary

 

Marshall Goldsmith’s book “Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts–Becoming the Person You Want to Be” is filled with nuggets of wisdom from spending a lifetime helping leaders change their behaviors. In this short article, Triggers – Marshall Goldsmith-Book Summary, I have covered a few main ideas. I highly recommend buying the book- Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts–Becoming the Person You Want to Be       

 

Read summary of Marshall’s renowned book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

 

Want to become a more intentional and successful person and a leader?

 

We offer Marshall Goldsmith coaching (based on his book Triggers and WGYHWGYT) in India, the middle east, Asia, Europe, US. It is the best coaching program in India because it is exactly the same executive coaching process used by Marshall Goldsmith to coach CEOs of Fortune 500 companies worldwide and we guarantee measurable leadership growth or you don’t pay at all.

 

 

NAL Triple Advantage Leadership Coaching.

 

That delivers guaranteed and measurable leadership growth.  It is based on a stakeholder-centered coaching process with a 95% effectiveness rate (in a study or 11000 leaders on 4 continents).  It is used by companies ranging from startups to 150 of the Fortune 500 companies to develop their leaders.

Here are some of the salient benefits of NAL Triple Advantage Leadership Coaching

Time and resource-efficient: The leader does not have to leave work to attend training programs.  We go to the leader and her team.  And it only takes 1.5 hours per month. The rest of the time, the leader is working to implement with her team.

Separate and customized improvement areas for each leader: Every leader is different.  One size fits all approach doesn’t work.  Individual development areas for each leader aligned to the business strategy.

Involves entire team: Unlike most leadership programs, NAL Triple Advantage Leadership Coaching involves the leader’s entire team, and it has a cascading effect – increasing the team effectiveness and improving organizational culture.

The leader becomes the coach: for continuous improvement for leaders themselves and their teams. It is like kaizen for your leadership development.

Cost-Effective: Our entire one-year coaching engagement often costs less than sending the leader to a short-duration leadership program at any reputed B school.

Guaranteed and measurable leadership growth: as assessed – not by us – but anonymously rated by the leader’s own team members.

Pay us only after we deliver results! : We work with many of our clients on a pay for results basis.  What does it mean?  If the leaders don’t improve, you simply don’t have to pay us.

 

Schedule an exploratory 15-minute conversation with our leadership adviser today

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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There Marshall Goldsmith Book Summary:

 

Marshall Goldsmith is considered by many – the best leadership coach and leadership thinker in the world.  His book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – is an international bestseller. Here is What Got You Here Won’t Get You There-Marshall Goldsmith-Book summary. In this book, Marshall Goldsmith shares his advice for successful leaders. 

 

To reach the next level of success, leaders have to overcome the ineffective habits that hold them back.  

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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There Book Summary:  Section One: The Trouble With Success 

Successful leaders become successful because of a certain set of beliefs. Unfortunately, the same set of beliefs holds them back from going to the next level of success. 

For example – confidence in their own ability allows leaders to achieve success. But when this confidence turns into arrogance, the leader stops listening to others and often overrates his/her own contribution to the team’s success while underestimating the help he may get from the team or from benevolent circumstances.  

 

Read: The FAILURE story of the legendary Henry Ford and the lesson for leaders

Any feedback that does not fit with the leader’s “inflated and distorted” mental image of themselves is dismissed.  In a world where things are constantly changing – not listening, not accepting feedback, treating others unfairly, etc. – becomes a death trap for the leader and unknowingly the leader sabotages his or her own career advancement. 

 

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There Book Summary: Section Two: The Twenty Habits That Hold You Back From The Top 

Marshall Goldsmith has identified 20 habits of successful leaders that they need to STOP. Marshall Goldsmith had worked with management guru Peter Drucker and quotes him as saying –

 

“We spend a lot of time helping leaders learn what to do. We do not spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half of the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop.”  

As human beings, we may be guilty of most of these habits at some point in time or another.  It is OK, that is just part of being human. However, for many leaders, a handful of these habits are done with such frequency and intensity that they become a problem for people around them. Leaders need not worry about stopping ALL of these habits but identify 1-2 which have become a behavioral bottleneck for their future success. 

 

Here are the 20 ineffective habits of leaders as per What Got You Here Won’t Get You There-Marshall Goldsmith-Book summary  

 

1. Winning too much: 

Leaders often have an obsession to win.  This drive to win is what makes them successful. Over time, winning becomes a habit.  When taken to the extreme, wanting to win becomes an obsession!  They want to win when it matters when it is trivial, and when it makes no sense at all.  It is OK to let other people “win”. Leaders should not make it all about themselves and their victory. 

2. Adding too much value: 

People often come to the leader to seek advice.  Leaders are used to solving problems that people bring.  Giving instructions and advice is part of their job.  The problem is when this goes to the extreme.  When leaders hear ideas from other people, they have a tendency to add their two cents worth to the idea.  It is often annoying for other people.  Employees commit more to their own ideas.  When they get unsolicited advice, that commitment to execute the idea goes down significantly.  

3. Passing judgment:

Every individual is different. How they think, what they value, and how they make decisions are different.  In fact, no two individuals are exactly alike.  Leaders often want to evaluate others from their own standards and consider others inferior who do not measure up to these arbitrary standards.  For example – if a leader is an early riser, they may believe that anyone who wakes up late is a slacker!  A good leader allows people to do things their own way, as long they reach the same goal.  A good leader does not impose their way of doing things on others.

4. Making destructive comments: 

When a leader says bad things about others, it derails the morale of the people around him.  Leaders often disguise derogatory remarks as sarcasm or humor.  It hurts other’s feelings although the leader may think they sound witty. Calling names, insulting people, labeling others is a severe drag to the engagement and productivity of the entire team.

5. Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: 

Let’s say a team member suggests a new idea.  The leader’s next sentence may start with no it won’t work, or but this idea has problems, or I have heard your ideas – however, it hasn’t worked in the past. When leaders reply starting with one or more of these words – they essentially say that whatever the other person said is incorrect and the leader’s opinion is correct.  Instead of replying with one of these words – just say “that is an interesting idea”.

6. Telling the world how smart we are: 

This bad habit feeds the ego of the leader.  An egoistic leader’s major chunk of communication is often aimed at two things –

1. Talking about how smart the leader is or

2.  How others are not so smart!

Both these activities waste time and reduce engagement.  Leaders simply need to stop this habit.   

7. Speaking when angry: 

Leaders often excuse their losing their temper as a tool for managing and controlling people, but it is a crude method and does a lot of harm.  It is disrespectful and dehumanizing.  Today’s workforce includes millennials, gen x, and gen z employees.  They simply won’t tolerate such behaviors.  There is no excuse for losing your temper. 

8. Negativity, or “Let me explain why that won’t work:

 Leaders have to inspire others to try new things. Negativity is exactly the opposite of that.  When someone brings up a new idea or different way of doing things – leaders unknowingly dismiss it by saying – “let me explain why that won’t work”.  A leader’s job is to inspire new ideas and innovation, this habit simply stifles it.  A simple reply – “that is an interesting idea/perspective” is a much better option. 

9. Withholding information:

 In the industrial age, the leader’s power came from controlling information and resources.  Many leaders still practice this bad habit of withholding information.  In today’s VUCA business world, free flow of information and ideas is essential for success. Not passing on the information down the line to gain an advantage over others is a bad habit that decreases team engagement and productivity. 

10. Failing to give proper recognition: 

Appreciation and recognition are tools in a leader’s arsenal that are powerful motivators and cost nothing.  The most basic form of disrespect is not giving proper recognition for a job well done.  It is demotivating for the team when a leader holds back well-deserved recognition. 

Which of these 20 career-derailing habits do you (or leaders in your company) have?

 

 

 

 

The best way to find out the ineffective habits and leadership bottlenecks that hold you or the leaders in your organization is to do a 360-degree assessment of all leaders.  We offer the 360-degree assessment designed by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith.  It is the Global Leadership Assessment or GLA 360.

 

 

 

11. Claiming credit that we don’t deserve: 

It is one thing not to give recognition. However, it is really offensive and demoralizing to take credit for good work done by others.  A good leader does exactly the opposite.  She gives credit to the team for success and achievement.  In the end, the team’s success automatically reflects upon the leaders’ success. 

12. Making excuses: 

Leaders often fall prey to making excuses for their actions and behaviors. If a leader comes late to a meeting and then blames the traffic or the executive assistant, people see right through these excuses.  Making excuses erodes trust and respect.  Taking responsibility is the cure for this bad habit.  

13. Clinging to the past:

Blaming people and circumstances from the past for their problems or failure in the present is a bad leadership habit according to Marshall Goldsmith.  Often it is fashionable to blame parents or upbringing or environment for our behaviors. But as successful adults, we need to take responsibility for our present actions instead of blaming the past. 

14. Playing favorites:

Leaders often like people who have a similar background, similar working style, and those who “suck up” to them.  This is human nature – birds of a feather stay together!  But as a leader, this alienates others who may deliver results but are not the leader’s favorites – because they are not similar or they don’t suck up!  Without diversity, inclusion, and belonging – the team will always perform below their potential.

15. Refusing to express regret:

If a leader’s behavior or action causes inconvenience or harm to others, the obvious thing to do is to apologize. However, leaders have difficulty doing so.  It is human to make mistakes.  Not apologizing for accidental or intentional errors causes resentment in others and degrades the brand value of the leader.  

16. Not listening: 

Listening is a key leadership skill.  Leaders often climb the ladder due to their technical ability and telling and instructing others what to do.  But as a leader, when you have to get work done through others, not listening means a lower level of trust and less commitment from the team members.  Not listening conveys that your thoughts and ideas are not important to the leader. It basically says – “you are not important enough for me to listen to you”. 

17. Failing to express gratitude: 

Saying thank you doesn’t cost anything and motivates the team members – leaders often have a difficult time expressing gratitude.  An inspiring leader never misses a chance to acknowledge others’ contributions and appreciate them publicly. 

A person who feels appreciated will do more than what is expected. 

18. Punishing the messenger:

When someone delivers bad news, leaders get upset and punish the messenger.  Eventually, people stop bringing any unpleasant news to the leader. As a leader, you’d want to know of things that aren’t going as per plan, as soon as possible.  When a leader punishes the messenger of bad news, she may be the last person on the team to know when things are off track. 

19. Passing the buck: 

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith says that it is fashionable in the Western world to blame, parents, society, upbringing, media, Hollywood, and more for how people turn out!  As an adult, and as a leader, we need to take responsibility of our current actions, no matter what happened in the past.  When things go wrong, leaders blame other people or circumstances instead of taking responsibility. 

20. An excessive need to be “me”: 

Using the excuse – “This is how I am” – means that a leader is defending a bad habit and there can be no improvement.  The first step to any change and improvement is awareness of the habit.  The second step is acceptance of the issue.  When a leader says “this is how I am” – there is little chance of improvement. 

 

 

How do you help leaders overcome their ineffective habits?

 

One of the best ways to help leaders overcome their ineffective habits is through the executive coaching process designed by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith himself.  Marshall Goldsmith’s Stakeholder Centered Coaching (MGSCC for short) is based on the book – What got you here won’t get you there – and delivers guaranteed and measurable leadership growth. It also helps improve the performance of the team and aids the leader’s career growth.

 

 

 

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There Book Summary: Section Three: How We Can Change For The Better 

 

Marshall Goldsmith introduces the concept of feedforward. In Corporate culture, everyone is aware of the process of feedback and performance reviews. Feedback talks about what we have done in the past. It often invokes guilt, defensiveness, and resistance. Feedforward is asking for suggestions for the future instead of discussing the past.  What can I do in the future to get better at whatever area you are trying to improve? This creates hope, possibility, and enthusiasm to try to improve. Marshall Goldsmith’s feedforward is one of the best tools available for leaders to get better. 

Below are the three steps to use Feedforward for behavioral improvement 

Based on what got you here won’t get you there book summary here are the steps

1. Decide on a single behavior you would like to improve upon. Pick a behavior that you do often and improving it would make a significant difference. 

2. Approach your team members individually and ask them – “I am working on improving my behavior in this area. Can you give me two suggestions on what I can do soon to improve in this area?”. No discussion about the past, only suggestions for the future! 

3. Listen carefully to the suggestions and note them down. Do not defend or justify your behavior. Don’t even say “good suggestion” or “bad suggestion”. Just reply with a “Thank you” or “Thank you for your suggestions” 

The leader then picks to act on a few of these suggestions during their day-to-day interaction with the team.  At the end of the month, the leader asks the team members for feedback for acting on their suggestions – How did I do? He also asks what else can I do in the next month to improve. 

This process of feedback and feedforward is repeated until the leader’s behavior AND the team members’ perception has changed and they achieve success. 

 

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There Book Summary: Section Four: Pulling Out the Stops 

Here are some rules to keep in mind to ensure success in changing leadership behaviors 

1. This process works for behavioral change only. It will not help the leader to gain technical knowledge or skills.   
2. There is no need to change every single one of the 20 habits. Pick one or two that will make the biggest difference. 
3. Understand that it takes courage to admit you need to change. It also takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to successfully change. 
4. Be open to receiving candid feedback. 
5. Don’t worry about being perfect!  Human beings are flawed and they make mistakes.  It is OK! 
6. To change any behavior, we must measure it.   
7. It really helps to monetize the results.  Use small amounts of money as a fine or punishment for bad behavior. As leaders have a tendency to want to win, this helps them accelerate the behavior change. 
8. The best time to change is now. We will always have something or other that is perceived as urgent.  The fact remains that if we wait for the right time to change, we may wait forever. 

 

 

 

Marshall Goldsmith’s book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There is one of the best books on leadership development. Marshall Goldsmith’s Stakeholder Centered Coaching method (based on the book) delivers guaranteed and measurable leadership development. It is one of the best executive coaching programs.  Unlike other executive coaching programs – we would work on specific areas for the leaders to develop and deliver measurable and guaranteed leadership growth – not judged by us, but rather judged by the leader’s stakeholders. 

 

Read: What are the best executive coaching programs? Which are the top executive coaching firms?

 

Don’t just read the book – apply it – as what got you here won’t get you there!

 Marshall Goldsmith has developed the executive coaching program based on the best-selling book – What got you here won’t get you there. It helps leaders realize what are their leadership bottlenecks. Overcoming them allows the leaders to achieve the next level of success

 

We offer Marshall Goldsmith coaching worldwide both virtually and in person through our certified coaches. It is the best coaching program in India Asia Middle East Europe United States Australia -because it is exactly the same executive coaching process used by Marshall Goldsmith to coach CEOs of Fortune 500 companies worldwide and we guarantee measurable leadership growth or you don’t pay at all.

 

Here are some features of the Marshall Goldsmith executive coaching program

 

Marshall Goldsmith is the author of the book – What got you here won’t get you there 

 

• Guaranteed, measurable leadership growth as assessed–not by us–but by the leader’s own stakeholders
• Unlike leadership training or executive education programs, it will involve the entire team while doing their day to day work
• The leader becomes the coach, and it has a cascading effect on the team increasing the team effectiveness and improving organizational culture
• It is a system for continuous improvement for leaders themselves and their teams – although it is leadership coaching for the individual leader; we realize the benefit of team coaching through the involvement of the entire team
• In a study of 11,000 leaders on 4 continents–95% of the leaders using this leadership coaching process improved!
• This is the exact same executive coaching process that has been used by 150 of the Fortune 500 companies to grow their leaders through CEO coaching and leadership coaching at C-suite levels
• We are so confident of the process we work on a no growth no pay basis (don’t try that with other vendors, lol!)

 

Schedule an exploratory 15-minute conversation with our leadership adviser today

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References 

Book What got you here won’t get you there 

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