After leading teams through transformation for years, I've noticed a pattern. There are three questions that predict almost everything about performance, retention, and culture:
Do I like who I work for?
Do I like who I work with?
Do I like what I do?
When the answer is "yes" to all three, something powerful happens. Work stops feeling like just a paycheck. People lean in. They care more deeply. They bring their best ideas and energy forward because they're bought into the mission, not just the job description.
But when even one of those answers is "no," you can feel it. Engagement drops. Innovation stalls. People start protecting themselves instead of the mission.
I see a version of that passion every day at home. With four kids—twins who are two, a three-year-old, and a six-year-old—our house is a constant cycle of curiosity and chaos. They throw themselves into everything they do, whether it's building a fort, learning to read, or racing to be first out the door. They don't half-try. They're all in.
And it's a good reminder: passion is natural. We're born with it.
Somewhere along the way, in corporate life, we start to lose it—buried under process, fear, or routine. But the healthiest organizations find ways to reignite it. They create space for people to rediscover that energy, connect to purpose, and do work that matters.
Because the truth is: passionate individuals don't just do their jobs. They elevate them. They innovate, they collaborate, and they inspire the people around them.
And when that passion is aligned under One Team One Dream—when people say "yes" to all three questions—that's when teams achieve outcomes they didn't even know were possible.
But here's the thing: passion alone isn't enough. It needs a foundation to stand on. And that foundation is built on something that many organizations still struggle with—the ability to be vulnerable, to admit what we don't know, and to ask for help without fear. That's where real trust begins.