The Champion Forum Podcast with Jeff Hancher
Jun 25, 2026 · 18 min · 7 segments
We want your feedback and questions. Text us here. What should leaders do when an employee’s behavior disappoints or frustrates them? This episode of…
Jeff HancherHostNo entities detected.
This is such an important topic for all of us that want to be high impact leaders.
And curious leaders ask great questions, and there is a fantastic question that I have used for years when I'm seeking to understand.
This is one of the things that we talk about in that firm feedback experience that I just promoted.
One of my favorite questions to ask when addressing behavior is this: What were you trying to accomplish by doing that? Let that, let that sink in and think about how powerful that question is.
What were you trying to accomplish by doing that? When you think about this question, it's not accusatory, it's not defensive, it's not aggressive.
Has that ever happened to you? That's a good time, isn't it? You know, the leader who skips understanding, they might say, "Don't interrupt me again when I'm talking, Brad." But a leader who seeks to understand, they might ask, "What were you trying to accomplish by jumping in there?" May- maybe, I don't know, maybe, maybe that, uh, employee says, "Boss, I thought you were asking for feedback." They might say, "Listen, I was just so excited to contribute." They might say, "You know what? I was trying to prevent you from making a fatal error, boss." Suddenly, you have context.
Now, listen, the behavior may still need to be addressed, but now you're addressing it with an understanding instead of an assumption, and this matters.
First, it helps the leader gain a whole lot of clarity, and second, it helps the employee gain self-awareness.
You know, people don't need your leadership vending machine, "Let me tell you what to do.
Go left." No, we want to grow people and teach people how to fish, don't we? Well, that self-awareness has to be part of that formula.
When people are forced to explain their actions, they often hear themselves in a way that they've never heard it before.
You ask, as the leader, "What were you trying to accomplish when you said that? What were you trying to accomplish when you did that," whatever that behavior was, and they begin explaining their behavior, and most times, halfway through their explanation, they kinda stop, and you see them kinda thinking, and they realize, "Wow, that didn't make much sense." And you didn't have to attack them.
This is such an important topic for all of us that want to be high impact leaders.
And curious leaders ask great questions, and there is a fantastic question that I have used for years when I'm seeking to understand.
This is one of the things that we talk about in that firm feedback experience that I just promoted.
One of my favorite questions to ask when addressing behavior is this: What were you trying to accomplish by doing that? Let that, let that sink in and think about how powerful that question is.
What were you trying to accomplish by doing that? When you think about this question, it's not accusatory, it's not defensive, it's not aggressive.
Has that ever happened to you? That's a good time, isn't it? You know, the leader who skips understanding, they might say, "Don't interrupt me again when I'm talking, Brad." But a leader who seeks to understand, they might ask, "What were you trying to accomplish by jumping in there?" May- maybe, I don't know, maybe, maybe that, uh, employee says, "Boss, I thought you were asking for feedback." They might say, "Listen, I was just so excited to contribute." They might say, "You know what? I was trying to prevent you from making a fatal error, boss." Suddenly, you have context.
Now, listen, the behavior may still need to be addressed, but now you're addressing it with an understanding instead of an assumption, and this matters.
First, it helps the leader gain a whole lot of clarity, and second, it helps the employee gain self-awareness.
You know, people don't need your leadership vending machine, "Let me tell you what to do.
Go left." No, we want to grow people and teach people how to fish, don't we? Well, that self-awareness has to be part of that formula.
When people are forced to explain their actions, they often hear themselves in a way that they've never heard it before.
You ask, as the leader, "What were you trying to accomplish when you said that? What were you trying to accomplish when you did that," whatever that behavior was, and they begin explaining their behavior, and most times, halfway through their explanation, they kinda stop, and you see them kinda thinking, and they realize, "Wow, that didn't make much sense." And you didn't have to attack them.
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