Your Team Doesn’t Need Another Poster—They Need Ownership
Last week, I led my “ACE Your Communication and Transform Your Leadership” program with the team at EOA Savannah—the folks behind some of the most critical support services in Chatham County. We’re talking Head Start, youth programs, home energy assistance, and about a dozen other programs that quietly make life a little better for people who need it most.
These are not leaders with empty plates; they are juggling clipboards, paperwork, and real families with real needs. Meanwhile, I’m the person breezing in saying, “Let’s practice better conversations!” Luckily, they were fully on board…or at least politely pretending until I won them over.
We dug into my Learning Conversation Blueprint, and the group had some fun with it—especially the part where I suggested they think of themselves as both the player and the referee during conversations. You should have seen the expressions when I said that. It was somewhere between “How many hats are we wearing now?” and “Does this job come with a whistle?”
Here’s the simple flow we practiced (notice you can remember the order with the acronym ACE):
Anchor in neutral facts. Take a breath, step into mediator mode, and start with what’s true without judgment. Not, “You’re late again!” Instead, “Our meeting started at 10, and you arrived at 10:15.” Facts open doors—opinions close them.
Collaborate on solutions. This is where the magic (and the eye contact) happens. Ask questions. Listen. Invite ideas. Maybe the solution is obvious. Maybe it’s not. Either way, collaboration creates buy-in.
Execute with clear next steps. No more vague, “Let’s do better next time.” Instead, say, “Here’s what we’ll do, who’s doing it, and by when.”
When I do this training, people are always relieved when they realize that the solution isn’t always theirs to figure out and that their lives will get easier if they work with their team to get buy-in.
Here’s the bottom line: You can have goals, rules, and plans. You can print these goals, rules, and plans on mugs, posters, or matching T-shirts. They will only take root when people believe in them—when they feel like participants, not spectators.
A goal, rule, or plan someone helps make will always be followed more faithfully than one delivered from the mountaintop.
As we start a fresh new year, consider this: What would change if your team felt invested instead of instructed?
Chances are—everything.