I've been reflecting on my 40 years in leadership roles and trying to reverse engineer the one concept that has been responsible for the successes that I've had. This has not been an easy task because there are so many different things that leaders need to do and there are a variety of behaviors and mindsets and tools that they need to use, skills that they need to have, and so on and so forth. So it's been one of those opportunities for me to get to the root of what it is that makes everything else work. And I have discovered it. I believe that every leader should be on a mission to make the workplace a source of prosperity for people. And when I say prosperity, I'm talking not only extrinsic things like pay and benefits, but in a holistic sense, intrinsically. Growth, development, inspiration, encouragement, all of those things. You see, the common understanding that we have is that the workplace is often a source of frustration. It is a necessary evil to have to go to work and be frustrated because, I mean, it's work. It's not like you're supposed to love your job. Now, some of us are fortunate to be making a living doing what we love to do. But that's not the case for most people. And most of us have come to accept that there's some amount of agony and frustration that is going to be caused by our work. or our workplace or the people that we work with. And I'm here to tell you that if we change our mindset as leaders and also as peers, people who are committed, whether they have a leadership role or title or not, to transform the workplace into a source of prosperity and inspiration and growth for everybody else, then that is a game changer. Before I go into the nitty-gritty of what I mean by this, let me go ahead and just address a few of the objections that might come to mind. The first objection might be that basically we are in our workplace to get the job done and get the results. So what does this have to do with that? And I am here to tell you that there's a ton of research that has been done that shows that a workplace that has a healthy culture, when people want to come to work, they will bring in their discretionary effort. They will do what needs to be done and results improve. Great places to work is one of those sources that has proven that in a workplace where people trust their leader and each other, and they take pride in the work that they do and they have camaraderie, they produce exceptional results that is far and above their peers. The second objection might be that you may envision a place where we are singing Kumbaya and everybody's happy and nobody has any challenges and they don't have to work hard. And that is absolutely not true. In a workplace that is a source of inspiration for people, challenges don't go away. The only thing that is different is that we create a different context for challenges. When challenges come up, we don't dread them, we look at them as a way to grow and develop. I'll give you an analogy of going to the gym. When you go to the gym, you don't shy away from picking up the weight and doing the work because you're there to do that. And you know that lifting those weights, although it may be hard at the time, will ultimately contribute to your growth and development. And by the way, we don't go to the gym so that we can pick up heavier weights. We go to the gym to develop our strength so that in our life, when we're not in the gym, we can use that strength. A real life example of this is the conversation that I had with an employee who was very disgruntled and was telling everybody he was going to leave because we were facing several challenges in the warehouse where he was working. Well, I went and had a frank conversation with him and I asked him what he envisioned that he was going to be doing in 10 years. And he told me he was thinking that he was going to be a supervisor at another warehouse, maybe a little bigger than the one that we had. And I told him, I said, if that is the extent of your vision, it's probably not worth it for you to deal with all of these problems. And I don't blame you. And if you want, I give you a great reference. You can leave if you like. I hate to lose you. But I can understand that if that is the extent of your vision, that the trouble you're going through today is not worth it. But I also made a suggestion to him. I said, what if your vision was bigger than that? What if you were going to be a CEO? your own logistics company in about 10 years. Now, would it serve you to come to work and just sit around and let things run smoothly? Or would it actually help you? Would it serve you to deal with these problems and learn something that you can apply in your journey? And this is a real-life story and this person has been complaining and telling everybody who's going to leave. And after that conversation, the context completely shifted into a positive direction in that he began to see the challenges as something positive. So when we talk about the workplace being a source of prosperity and inspiration, it is not that we lack any challenges and we don't have to work hard, but that we create a very empowering context for the challenges. The third objection might be that this might imply that we are actually treating people like children. Like we are trying to create a place here where they can be happy and all of that. So don't they have any responsibility in making that happen? And what I would say to that is absolutely. They absolutely are responsible for doing what they need to do. So in a place that is a source of prosperity for people, we don't just try to do something for people. We're expecting them to adopt the right mindset and do what they need to do to manage their own morale, if you will. And by the way, if that is the mission that is embraced by everybody, then we're doing it for each other. We're not just waiting for the boss to come and motivate anybody. We're doing it for each other and If somebody is not contributing to that mission, we have the hard conversation with them. We give them the feedback. We let them know what the expectations are. So if as a leader, or again, as someone within the organization, no matter where you are, if your mission is to transform the workplace, then anything that interferes with that mission needs to be dealt with, including, by the way, person who is not willing to take personal responsibility and be accountable for their actions. The difference is we do it coming from a place of compassion. We deliver the heart message, but we do it with compassion and with the intention to fulfill that mission of making sure that even for that person, as well as everybody else, the workplace is a source of inspiration and prosperity. The last objection that I will mention is that we still have a whole lot of other things to do. So if we're just focusing on making the workplace a source of inspiration for people, what about all this other work? What about all these other priorities? Well, guess what? All the other work still needs to get done, but we will do it in a different context and we will be a whole lot more effective at it. We still need to set clear direction. We need to clarify expectations. We need to give people the tools and the skills. We need to provide them feedback. We need to coach them and we need to intervene when we are uniquely qualified to support the activities. The difference is that if we do all of that work in the context of making the workplace a source of inspiration and prosperity, then we will be a whole lot more effective at it. You may have heard me talk about an experience that I had about 20 years into my career when I was the plant manager of a plant and we weren't doing very well. And we ended up within a year and a half turning the plant around from being the worst to the best. Well, in that plant, we had a two-part vision. The first part was that we were going to be the showcase of excellence. And this had everything to do with delivering extraordinary results and making sure that all stakeholders are happy with return that they're getting from the plant. The second part of our vision was that we were going to be the cradle of prosperity. Where this came from was a simple observation that people had problems in their lives. They had financial issues. They had health issues. They have relationship issues. And we basically set out to get better at life, not just at work. My wife and i set out to bring a lot of education and support and coaching to the employees and the plant to alleviate some of their pain and suffering. And that was really our only motive. We didn't do it in order to get more work out of people. It was just an act of love and compassion. But when I look back on that experience, I can easily see that it was responsible for the transformation that we saw in our morale and the support that I received for doing the kinds of things that needed to be done in the plan to turn our results around. Before that intervention, we were working in silos and morale was in a really bad place. There wasn't a whole lot of trust for leadership. But somewhere along the way, as people began to see some signs that we actually extended trust to employees and we were going out of our way to make sure that we're doing the right thing for them, then they extended trust and they brought their discretionary effort to work. I can honestly say that I am very clear that I am not the strongest plant manager I have ever seen. Far from it. There are a lot of plant managers who can run circles around me. They know all about every detail of everything about every machine and all of this kind of stuff. And for me, that was not something that I was bringing to the party. And I believe it worked in my favor in that I wasn't trying to be the expert telling everybody what to do. I was in the business of empowering people to do what they did best. And as I went out of my way to do everything I could to support them as a whole person, not just a worker, then I earned their trust and they made up for my deficiencies. But this is not intended to be an instructional video that encompasses everything you need to do to go make that sort of thing happen. You can expect to hear from me on this topic a lot more about how it works and why it works and what you need to do and so on and so forth. I'm extremely excited about this being our North Star and driving everything else. What I do want to do is plant the seed with you here. And I'd like you to consider that when a workplace is a source of prosperity in the broader sense, people don't shy away from challenges. They don't just do the minimum. They go out of their way. They bring their discretionary effort. They lean in. They are receptive to feedback because they want to get better. And they don't hesitate to offer suggestions for improvements. They know that doing what is best for the team is also what is good for them. And so we are tapping into that built-in desire for all of us to do what's right for ourselves. And therefore we entice everybody to do what is right for the team. In that type of workplace, we work through tough issues. We don't avoid them because we know that everybody has good intent and sweeping problems under the rug doesn't serve anyone. Again, there's so much more to be said about how you go about transforming the workplace into a source of inspiration. Believe me, I have done this over a 31 year career in my own operations countless times. And for the past 10 years, consulting with and guiding leaders, we have managed to accomplish this in multiple industries, different geographies. So there's a lot that I can share with you. For now, I just want to leave you with two calls to action. Number one, I'd like you to answer the question on a scale of zero to 10, where is your team? Where is your workplace right now? on this mission of making the workplace a source of inspiration and prosperity and growth. And I know that this is a very subjective assessment, but just assign a number. Zero, meaning we're a horrible place and the place is a source of frustration, and 10 is nirvana. Just pick a number. Just being aware of where you stand gives you something to work with. So that's number one. Number two, I'd like you to ask yourself two questions at the end of every workday for the next two weeks and answer those questions for yourself and journal. The first question is, on a scale of zero to 10, how well did I do in transforming the workplace into a source of inspiration and prosperity? Now, this doesn't have to be on a broad scale with 100,000 people. It could be that you just basically touched one life, that you had a great conversation or something really great happened. But judge yourself on a scale of zero to 10. At the end of each day, ask yourself this question, how well did I do in carrying out that mission? And the second question is, what is one thing that I'm going to do tomorrow to fulfill this mission? Do this for the next two weeks, journal about it, I'd love to hear from you about the insights that might show up. And I'd love to engage with you to have a conversation, to see what you're coming up with and put our heads together to see if there's anything I can offer you in terms of ideas and thoughts. Again, much more to come on this, but I sincerely hope that you entertain this idea. Think about it and see what shows up for you.

Summary

Over my 40 years in leadership roles, I have been trying to reverse engineer the one concept that made everything else work. After reflecting on the behaviors, mindsets, skills, and tools that leaders need, I have come to believe that every leader should be on a mission to make the workplace a source of prosperity for people.

By prosperity, I mean much more than pay and benefits. I mean growth, development, inspiration, enthusiasm, encouragement, and the opportunity for people to become better, not just at work, but in life. We have come to accept that work is often a source of frustration, as if enduring a certain amount of misery is a necessary evil for having a job. I believe we must change that. Whether we have a leadership title or not, we can all contribute to making the workplace a place where people thrive.

Some might argue that the workplace is about getting the job done and delivering results, not making people feel good. But the two are not mutually exclusive. When people trust their leaders and one another, take pride in their work, and experience camaraderie, they are more than willing to bring their discretionary effort, which naturally leads to extraordinary results. Others might imagine a workplace where everyone is happy, nobody struggles, and hard work disappears. That’s not what I’m advocating. Challenges are still part of the equation. The difference is the context in which we face them.

Just as lifting weights at the gym builds strength we can use outside the gym, with the right context, workplace challenges can help people develop capabilities they will use throughout their lives. I once had a disgruntled employee who was ready to leave because of the problems we were facing in his warehouse. When I asked him to imagine a bigger future for himself, one in which he might run his own logistics company, he began to see those very problems as opportunities to learn rather than reasons to quit.

Making the workplace a source of prosperity doesn’t mean treating people like children or relieving them of responsibility. Quite the opposite. We all have a responsibility to contribute to the kind of workplace we want. That means managing our own morale, holding ourselves accountable, offering feedback, and having difficult conversations when necessary. We can deliver a hard message with compassion while still being clear about expectations.

Nor does this mission replace the other work leaders must do. We still need to set direction, clarify expectations, provide tools and skills, coach, give feedback, and intervene when we can help. The difference is that all of these activities become more effective when they are grounded in a genuine commitment to helping people prosper.

I saw this firsthand when I was a plant manager and helped turn a struggling plant from the worst performer to the best in about a year and a half. Our vision was twofold: to be the “showcase of excellence” in our results and the “cradle of prosperity” for our people. My wife and I invested in education, support, and coaching because we cared about people as whole human beings, not because we were trying to extract more work from them. As trust grew, silos began to break down, morale improved, and people brought more of themselves to the job. I was not the most technically knowledgeable plant manager, but I focused on empowering people to do what they did best and supporting them as whole people. They made up for my deficiencies.

I believe this mission can and should become our “north star” for leadership and culture transformation. My challenge to you is to assess where your workplace stands today, then spend the next two weeks asking yourself at the end of each workday: How well did I help make the workplace a source of inspiration and prosperity today, and what is one thing I will do tomorrow to advance that mission?

Key Points

Leadership involves countless skills and behaviors, but the ultimate goal should be to make work a source of growth and inspiration, not merely a paycheck.
Compensation matters, but so do development, encouragement, trust, and fulfillment.
Frustration may be common, but it does not have to define the work experience.
Culture and results are complementary. A healthy workplace culture inevitably unlocks discretionary effort and stronger performance.
Trust, pride, and camaraderie matter. These are central features of a workplace where people are inspired to do exceptional work.
Don't eliminate challenges; change their context. Difficulties can become opportunities for learning and development.
Help people connect today's struggles to tomorrow's aspirations. A bigger vision can change how people interpret their current circumstances.
Everyone shares responsibility for workplace culture. Creating an inspiring environment is not solely the boss's job.
Personal responsibility and compassion belong together. Accountability remains essential, but difficult feedback should be delivered with compassion.
Avoiding difficult conversations or tolerating a lack of accountability works against creating a prosperous workplace.
Keep doing the fundamentals of leadership. Clear direction, expectations, tools, skills, feedback, coaching, and timely intervention still matter.
Support people as whole human beings. Investing in people's lives will build trust and strengthen their enthusiasm to contribute.
Empower people instead of trying to be the expert on everything. Leaders can achieve extraordinary results by enabling others to use their strengths.

Quotes

“Every leader should be on a mission to make the workplace a source of prosperity for people.”
“We have come to accept that there's some amount of agony and frustration that is going to be caused by our work.”
“If we change our mindset as leaders and also as peers, that is a game changer.”
“When people want to come to work, they will bring in their discretionary effort.”
“The only thing that is different is that we create a different context for challenges.”
“We don't go to the gym so that we can pick up heavier weights. We go to the gym to develop our strength so that in our life, when we're not in the gym, we can use that strength.”
“We deliver the hard message, but we do it with compassion.”
“We set out to get better at life, not just at work.”
“I wasn't trying to be the expert telling everybody what to do. I was in the business of empowering people to do what they did best.”
“I earned their trust and they made up for my deficiencies.”