“True life is lived when tiny changes occur.”

As human beings, we’re prone to “change blindness.”

That’s when there’s a change in our environment and we don’t notice it.

Even a major change right in front of us.

In one study, over half of the people who were asked directions on the street didn’t notice when the person they were talking to was replaced by someone else after construction workers walked between them.

We have a kind of “change blindness” with ourselves as well.

That’s why recently I changed how I start client calls.

Before, I used to ask founders to share “wins” they’d had during the week.

But they tended to report on high-level outcomes — the rockstar hire or the board meeting that went well — results that are relatively rare and that they don’t fully control.

I wanted the focus to be on how they had evolved as a leader.

So I changed the prompt to: “What micro-shifts did you make?”

Because what I’ve seen is most motivating for founders is simply a sense of progress, of momentum.

As Harvard professor Teresa Amabile showed in her research:

“…even small wins can boost inner work life tremendously. Many of the progress events our research participants reported represented only minor steps forward. Yet they often evoked outsize positive reactions.”

So focusing on micro-shifts with my clients does two key things:

• It helps them develop the muscle of noticing the tiny positive changes resulting from their efforts.
• It gives them permission to value and savor them so they do them again.

And the self-awareness it creates is gold. As one CEO said:

“… in the past, I would have gone in like a bulldozer, trying to prove myself, punch holes in their approach. And now I’m flipping that around, because I’m putting myself in his shoes. How must he feel with all this pressure, you know? So I told him, I’ve got your back, we’re here to support you and build this business together.”

By the end of our coaching engagement, they have a list of micro-shifts — proof that they’re evolving.

And just like a slight change of degree totally changes the trajectory of a rocket, they add up to big wins.

When you’re ready to level up your leadership, here’s how I can help:

• The High-EQ Founder, a cohort-based course that helps founders turbo-charge their leadership communication skills. Learn more here .
• A 1:1 executive coaching engagement. Schedule a “Create From Your Future” call here .

Let’s work together to make your vision a reality. With a High-EQ Flywheel, it’s faster than you think.