Why do so many professional goals fail, even in well-led organisations with capable people?

In this episode, leadership expert Niels Brabandt breaks down professional goal setting from a leadership and governance perspective, separating evidence-based practice from motivational theatre. Drawing on real-world executive experience and scientifically grounded principles, this episode explains how leaders can design goals that actually deliver results.

This episode covers:

• Why context matters more than motivation in professional goal setting

• The correct use of OKRs, KPIs and Critical Success Factors in leadership

• Why invented performance metrics damage organisations and decision quality

• How unrealistic timelines undermine credibility and execution

• The role of buffer time in professional project and change management

• Why ambitious goals must be matched with real resources and decision power

• How follow-up, not slogans, determines whether goals succeed or quietly fail

Niels Brabandt explains why numbers alone never tell the full story, how soft factors such as culture and motivation determine long-term success, and why sustainable leadership requires realism, structure and discipline.

This episode is essential listening for:

• Executives and senior leaders

• Board members and decision makers

• Founders and entrepreneurs

• Strategy, transformation and change leaders

• Anyone responsible for setting and delivering professional goals

If you are responsible for results, people, or organisational performance, this episode will help you rethink how professional goal setting really works and why leadership, not motivation, is the decisive factor.

Host: Niels Brabandt / NB@NB-Networks.com

Contact Niels Brabandt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielsbrabandt/

Niels Brabandt's Leadership Letter: https://expert.nb-networks.com/

Niels Brabandt's Website: https://www.nb-networks.biz/

Do New Year's resolutions genuinely lead to lasting change, or are they merely an annual illusion of progress? In this episode of The Leadership Podcast, Niels Brabandt examines the question through the lens of scientific research and executive leadership practice.

Rather than relying on popular myths or motivational slogans, this episode is grounded in peer reviewed studies from behavioural science and psychology. Niels Brabandt explains why the frequently quoted claim that only nine per cent of people keep their New Year's resolutions is not supported by scientific evidence. He presents what credible long term research actually shows, including why a significant minority of individuals do achieve sustainable behavioural change.

The episode explores why many resolutions fail and why this failure is not a matter of weak willpower. Vague goals, outcome fixation without method, and excessive dependence on external factors are identified as the primary reasons why resolutions collapse within weeks. These insights are directly relevant to business leaders who face similar challenges in strategy execution and organisational change.

Niels Brabandt also outlines what works. Drawing on both research findings and real world leadership experience, he explains why behaviour based goals outperform intention based goals, why measurability is essential for accountability, and how identity plays a decisive role in long term success. Particular attention is given to the difference between positive goals and avoidance goals, a distinction with significant implications for leadership, performance management, and personal development.

This episode is designed for executives, senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and decision makers who want to understand how evidence based goal setting can improve both personal effectiveness and organisational outcomes. New Year's resolutions are reframed not as motivational rituals, but as strategic instruments of self leadership when applied correctly.

The Leadership Podcast with Niels Brabandt delivers rigorous thinking on leadership, self leadership, organisational behaviour, and sustainable performance, combining academic insight with practical relevance for those in responsibility.

Keywords:
Niels Brabandt, New Year's resolutions, do New Year's resolutions work, leadership podcast, business leadership, executive leadership, self leadership, goal setting, behavioural change, evidence based leadership, organisational change, management psychology, decision making, leadership development, performance management, business strategy, sustainable change, leadership science, personal effectiveness

Host: Niels Brabandt / NB@NB-Networks.com

Contact to Niels Brabandt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielsbrabandt/

Niels Brabandt's Leadership Letter: https://expert.nb-networks.com/

Niels Brabandt's Website: https://www.nb-networks.biz/

The end of the year is more than a date on the calendar. It is a leadership moment.

In this end-of-year reflection, Niels Brabandt takes a deliberately humorous yet thoughtful look at end-of-year business—not as a last-minute rush for numbers, but as an opportunity to pause, reflect, and say thank you.

Drawing on insights from The Leadership Podcast and Leadership Videocast, this piece addresses why leadership does not stop when the calendar year ends, why persistence matters more than hype, and why gratitude is one of the most underestimated leadership tools.

This end-of-year article explores:

• Why end-of-year business is a leadership responsibility, not just an operational task

• How reflection strengthens leadership effectiveness

• The role of gratitude and appreciation in modern leadership

• Why sustainable leadership is built on consistency, not motivational noise

• How leaders can consciously close one year and prepare for the next

Above all, this piece is a thank-you—to listeners, viewers, readers, and everyone who engaged in meaningful leadership conversations throughout the year. It also acknowledges those who continue working while others pause, reminding us that leadership includes visibility, respect, and recognition.

Written for leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers, this article invites readers to celebrate achievements—large and small—and to approach the coming year with clarity, calm, and intention.

About the author:
Niels Brabandt is a leadership expert, trainer, speaker, coach, and entrepreneur. He works internationally with organisations and leaders on modern leadership, organisational development, and sustainable leadership practices. Through his podcast, videocast, articles, and live sessions, he provides research-based, practical leadership insights—always accessible and free of empty motivational rhetoric.

Keywords:

Niels Brabandt, leadership, end-of-year business, leadership reflection, modern leadership, business leadership, leadership podcast, leadership videocast, executive leadership, organisational development, leadership mindset, sustainable leadership, leadership at year end, management, decision-makers, leadership insights

Host: Niels Brabandt / NB@NB-Networks.com

Contact to Niels Brabandt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielsbrabandt/

Niels Brabandt's Leadership Letter: https://expert.nb-networks.com/

Niels Brabandt's Website: https://expert.nb-networks.com/