Why a Simple Checklist Changed My Behaviour (and What Leaders Can Learn From It)
Challenge Accepted
A couple of weeks ago, we started a challenge with a group of men from our church.
It’s intentionally well-rounded:
health, social connection, spiritual growth, and personal development.
Someone built a simple app to support it. Nothing fancy.
You log workouts. Track water. Check off time spent in spiritual practices.
Daily. Weekly. Monthly.
Here’s the surprising part:
Nothing about my willpower changed.
But everything about my behaviour did.
This morning, I extended my workout just so I could check off two items right away.
Same person. Same goals. Same life.
Different structure.
And that’s the leadership lesson hiding in plain sight.
What’s Actually Happening in Your Brain
This kind of behaviour shift isn’t magic. It’s wiring.
Our brains respond powerfully to:
Clear goals
Visible progress
Immediate feedback
Small, frequent rewards
Social accountability
Each checkbox is a tiny, concrete goal.
When you tick it off, your brain gets a dopamine hit tied to “that worked, do it again.”
The app turns invisible habits (hydration, prayer, workouts) into visible progress.
Instead of waiting weeks to feel healthier or more grounded, your brain gets instant feedback and a sense of competence now.
That’s why habit-tracking and gamified systems work:
They turn long-term change into short, winnable quests.
My “I’ll just add five more minutes” moment wasn’t discipline.
It was good design.
Why This Works Even Better in Community
Doing this inside a men’s group adds another powerful layer: identity and accountability.
You’re not just checking boxes alone.
You’re part of a shared commitment.
Over time, something subtle but important happens:
You stop thinking, “I’m trying to be healthier or more intentional.”
You start thinking, “I’m the kind of person who does this.”
That identity shift is where habits stick.
And this is where leadership comes in.
The Leadership Translation: Design Beats Motivation
Most leaders try to motivate behaviour.
Great leaders design for it.
Culture doesn’t change because of speeches, values decks, or posters.
It changes because of repeated, observable actions that are:
Easy to start
Clear to measure
Satisfying to complete
The biggest insight from this experience:
My behaviour didn’t change because I wanted it more.
It changed because the structure made the right behaviour easier.
That applies directly to how we lead teams.
Practical Ways Leaders Can Apply This Today
If you want engagement, ownership, and follow-through, design for it.
1. Define a Few Non-Negotiable Behaviours
Not goals. Behaviours.
Examples:
Daily customer touchpoint
Weekly learning habit
Regular feedback conversations
Personal development time
If everything is important, nothing is.
2. Make Progress Visible
What gets seen gets repeated.
This doesn’t require fancy software:
Shared dashboards
Simple trackers
Weekly rituals
Visual progress markers
Invisible effort kills momentum.
3. Add Light Gamification (Without Infantilizing People)
This isn’t about prizes.
It’s about:
Streaks
Milestones
Recognition
Shared progress
Adults don’t outgrow feedback loops.
4. Tie It to Identity
Don’t just say what to do.
Explain who you are becoming together.
“This is the kind of team we are.”
“This is how we show up.”
“This is what we practice daily.”
5. Design First. Motivate Second.
If your culture relies on constant motivation, something is broken.
Strong cultures make the right behaviour:
Obvious
Rewarding
Normal
The Bigger Lesson
Culture isn’t built through intention alone.
It’s built through structure.
Nothing about my discipline changed.
The system did, and my behaviour followed.
That’s the real leadership opportunity:
Stop asking people to try harder.
Start building environments that make the right choices the easiest ones to make.
That’s how habits form.
That’s how cultures shift.
That’s how leaders actually lead.
