Happy New Year! Each January brings a familiar cycle. We set resolutions with high motivation, goals, and a fresh-start energy, but then distractions, overload, and old habits creep in. Before long, our aspirations turn into perspirations.
The same patterns can show up in organizations—and especially in training initiatives. So how do we break the cycle and make 2026 the year of real, lasting behavior change?
One common miss organizations make is assuming that training delivery automatically leads to behavior change. It doesn’t. Learning alone doesn’t create new habits. Application and adoption require leadership support, reinforcement, accountability, practice, and momentum.
What can you do as a certified trainer?
Start with Clarity
Behavior change begins with clarity. The most practical first step is helping stakeholders define the behavior change target. What will application look like once people leave the classroom? What are one or two behavioral outcomes that give evidence the learning is working?
The more specific the target, the easier it is for leaders to model, for managers to reinforce, and for teams to practice. Vague outcomes like “improve communication” or “be more organized” are easy to champion but impossible to coach. Clear outcomes, on the other hand, can be observed, repeated, and strengthened over time.
A helpful way to define behavioral targets is to make them situational and visible: When X happens, we will do Y. This clarity increases adoption because people know exactly when and how to apply the skills. For example:
- Instead of “be more accountable,” define it as “when commitments are missed, we hold the accountability conversation as soon as we are able.”
- Instead of “communicate better,” define it as “when we disagree, we share facts first and ask for the other person’s view before advocating our own.”
- For productivity goals: “When meetings end, we capture next actions, assign owners, and confirm due dates.”
A Three-Part Strategy for Behavior Change
With clear behavioral goals in place, you can support adoption through a simple but powerful three-part strategy.
1. Leadership Support & Modeling
Leadership support is the strongest predictor of whether Crucial Learning skills become the “new norm” or something people learn and forget. Support must go beyond permission—it requires leadership endorsement and modeling.
When leaders attend trainings, use the language, and connect skills to real priorities, they send a clear signal that this matters. Employees take cues from their leaders. If leaders treat training as a checkbox, employees will too.
2. Reinforcement
Reinforcement bridges the gap between knowing and doing. Most learners fall victim to “learning scrap.” Research shows that up to eighty percent of learning is lost, even for those who are really trying to transfer the learning.
After training, learners return to environments full of competing priorities, old habits, and a lot of stress and pressure. Reinforcement doesn’t require complex systems or a large budget—just consistency. Lunch-and-learns, manager visits, performance reviews, rewards and recognition, and success stories all help keep skills accessible in the moments they are need most.
3. Practice
Practice is where behavior change is built. Confidence doesn’t come from understanding the skills of dialogue or accountability. It is built by using them. Training introduces concepts, but practice is what makes them stick.
Without deliberate practice, learners easily revert to their default behaviors under pressure. For this reason, practice shouldn’t be optional. It should be intentional and strategic applications like rehearsing with real workplace scenarios, having peer coaching, or planning labs. The key is to make it realistic, low risk, and ongoing. In doing so, new behaviors become natural and concepts become culture.
Turning Intentions into Results
As trainers, we have a unique opportunity to help our organizations move beyond New Year’s enthusiasm into real, lasting behavior change. When we treat training as the starting line, not the finish, we set people up for success long after the workshop ends.
The strategy seems simple but requires commitment and discipline: leaders model the skills, teams reinforce them in their daily work, and individuals practice until the new behaviors stick. The goal is to build momentum early. 2026 doesn’t have to be another year of good intentions—it can be the year of real results.
Crucial Learning is committed to helping you start strong! If you’d like additional support, reach out to you senior client advisor to explore how one of our learning solutions advisors can help.
