A leadership team was frustrated…performance had slipped, morale was low, and turnover was creeping up.
They’d tried everything…more oversight, tighter deadlines, extra training. And nothing stuck.
So they tried something different.
They asked each employee one simple question:
“What’s one area of your work you’d like to get better at?”
Not what the company wanted them to improve.
Just…what they wanted to work on.
One person chose communication during team handoffs.
Another picked reducing errors during transitions.
A third wanted more consistency with documentation.
The leadership team gave them choice.
…and something shifted.
Not overnight. But just a few weeks later, those same employees who had seemed checked out were now showing up with ideas, asking for feedback, and tracking progress on their own.
And it doesn’t take a massive cultural overhaul to start.
Try this when you’re leading your team:
- When practical, offer two project options and let someone choose.
- Ask when people prefer check-ins: what time works best for them?
- Build coaching plans around one self-identified behavior goal, one that they’re invested in.
These are moments that create buy-in, accountability, and growth.
