How Asking a Better Question Revealed the Blueprint for Transformational Leadership
And why it’s reshaping how we train leaders
What It Is:
The Transformative Leadership Mindset is a practical framework for managers to build trust, drive performance, and unlock the full potential of their teams. Born from asking a better question—What do the best leaders actually do for their people?—This approach flips traditional leadership training on its head by starting where it matters most: with the team experience.
Why It Matters:
In today’s complex, hybrid work environments, traditional leadership models fall short. This mindset shifts the focus from the manager to the team experience, equipping leaders with repeatable, teachable behaviors that elevate performance, engagement, and trust. It’s not just helpful—it’s essential.
A Better Question
Want different results? Start by asking a different question. That’s exactly how the Transformative Leadership Lab began.
Instead of starting with a leadership model or list of competencies, we started with the end user experience—not the manager being trained, but the team being led. We asked:
“Think of the best boss, coach, or teacher you’ve ever had. What did they do that helped you thrive?”
Thousands of responses across industries led to the same insights. The best leaders:
Saw me.
Listened.
Pushed me.
Expected more—and had my back.
Created space for me to grow.
These weren’t fluffy feel-good answers—they were the foundations of trust, challenge, safety, and growth. And they matched what Gallup’s research has said for years: the #1 driver (70%!!!) of engagement is the quality of your manager. That makes leadership not just a variable—but the lever that moves everything else. The behaviors followers describe consistently align directly with findings from Gallup’s Q12 survey, which identifies the core conditions that drive engaged teams.
Don’t trust us—test it for yourself. Take a minute and think about the best boss, coach, or teacher you’ve ever had. What was it about them? What kind of environment did they create? Chances are, they struck that rare balance: you felt safe enough to speak up and take risks, but you also knew you were being pushed to grow in ways you didn’t think you could. That feeling—that blend of trust and stretch—isn’t a fluke. It’s the product of specific, learnable leadership behaviors.
So instead of building leadership training from the top down, we built it from the bottom up.
We reverse-engineered these consistent team experiences into a set of teachable, repeatable leadership behaviors. What emerged is what we now call the Transformative Leadership Mindset—a framework designed not just to inform, but to transform.
What Is the Transformative Leadership Mindset?
It’s not a theory. It’s a practical framework for intentionally creating the conditions where people do their best work. The mindset is built around three core elements:
1. Sage Mind – Calm, Curious, Empathic
The inner foundation. Sage Mind leaders are present, composed, and intentional. They respond rather than react, lead with empathy, and stay grounded under pressure.
2. Relating – Building Trust & Connection
This is how leaders earn influence. They listen deeply, ask good questions, foster inclusion, and champion growth. They make people feel seen, heard, and valued.
3. Requiring – Setting High Standards & Driving Accountability
This is where performance lives. Requiring leaders to define clear expectations, hold people accountable, and address issues directly—with care and clarity.
The secret? It’s not one or the other. It’s both.
The most effective leaders relate and require. They create what we call safe discomfort—a space where people feel secure enough to be honest and stretched enough to grow.
Why This Matters Right Now
We didn’t invent these ideas—we just turned them into a teachable system.
In today’s work environment, managers face more complexity than ever. Teams are remote, expectations are high, and the stakes are real. Employees want purpose, clarity, and connection—and companies need performance, agility, and accountability.
The old leadership playbook doesn’t cut it. But replacing it with warm fuzzies and low standards isn’t the answer either.
The best leaders:
Build trust and drive results.
Foster psychological safety and uphold accountability.
And they create engaged, high-performance cultures—on purpose.
Turning Mindset Into Habit
The Transformative Leadership Lab isn’t a lecture series—it’s a system for habit change.
We teach leaders how to turn insight into action: setting clear expectations, giving forward-facing feedback, holding meaningful one-on-ones, and more. These are the micro-moments where culture is made and trust is built.
It’s not about knowing what good leadership looks like—it’s about practicing it until it becomes who you are.
When that happens, everything shifts:
Engagement rises. Performance improves. Culture transforms.
Want to Learn More?
We believe leadership is teachable—and when leaders grow, organizations transform.
If you’ve ever looked at your team and thought, “There’s so much potential here—we just haven’t unlocked it yet,” this is for you.
We’re not here to sell inspiration.
We’re here to teach transformation.
Let’s build the kind of workplaces where people do their best work and never want to leave.
