Conversations that start with intention

As a leader, the most impactful conversations I've had rarely started with an agenda. But they always started with intention.

Simple questions. Even conversation starters to help open the door to more questions and insights.

Not every answer was work-related. Not every answer needed to be.

I was looking for the thread. The thing that connects what someone does every day to what they actually care about. Their aspirations. The skills they built somewhere else that nobody here has thought to use. The role they're quietly hoping this job might grow into.

Hard to find that space in meetings where you're talking about performance. The bulletproof glass is on.

It takes time. Sometimes you have to earn the right to that conversation. What if there's no clear path forward? You collaborate to find one. What if trust isn't there yet? You work to build it.

Sometimes you have to earn the right to that conversation.

And when someone trusts you with what they actually want, what they're actually struggling with, it creates an obligation. When the moment comes to act on it, you act. Even when the decision is hard to defend.

That's the work of individual success. Not the performance metric. The conversation underneath it.

And it's not only their growth. It's yours.

Individual success starts here. It supports the structure. It drives the metrics. As a leader, one skill to develop is finding the opportunity for the person to grow into their role, and for the role to grow around their unique contribution. Team and ultimately customer success come next.