Tough competition in my client’s highly regulated energy industry began eroding its loyal customer base. In response, the company’s executive team surveyed selected customers and quickly realized they needed to improve operational efficiency while also enhancing customer experience.

One key strategy was encouraging employees who interacted directly with customers to become more solutions focused. To support this shift, employees were given greater latitude in decision-making. Managers and supervisors were also asked to help employees better understand the importance of their roles and how their actions contributed to the organization’s success.

Although supervisors and managers supported these strategies, progress toward meaningful cultural change proved slower than expected.

Against this backdrop, a vice president with whom I had been consulting learned that I was writing a book discussing the importance of workplace attitude — something he noted managers rarely talked about, let alone actively promoted. I was invited to meet with a few managers and supervisors to share ideas from the manuscript and discuss the importance of “attitude at work.”

During that meeting, I described the value of what I call an achieving attitude. Equally important, I explained, another behavioral companion: personal responsibleness — the willingness to accept control over what one says, thinks and does.

After reviewing the material with the training department and receiving their support, the vice president took steps to introduce these ideas to departmental managers as a way to accelerate cultural change. The pilot effort became known as “The Pro-Achievement Principle.”

The Pro-Achievement Principle Pilot Program

Before launching the initiative across a workforce of 625 employees, managers were asked to read selected portions of the curriculum to determine whether the ideas resonated. I also joined a virtual meeting to answer questions and discuss the approach. Following the discussion, the vice president polled managers to gauge enthusiasm for moving forward. The response was overwhelmingly positive. This was important because managers played a key role in the implementation of this workshop.

The pilot workshop was structured as two two-and-a-half-hour sessions separated by a three-week interval.

This gap served several purposes. First, it allowed participants time to apply the two core attributes of the Pro-Achievement Principle in their daily work. The objective was not simply to gain insight but to practice the behaviors on and off the job.

Second, the interval enabled managers to observe engagement levels within their teams. Participants were reminded that adopting a pro-achievement mindset was a personal choice rather than a mandate.

Third, the break gave managers an opportunity to coach employees around a central question: “How can you add value?” The focus was not on job titles, tenure or credentials, but on the actions, individuals could choose to take to contribute more effectively to their teams and the broader organization.

Employees who chose not to adopt the mindset were free to opt out, provided they did not undermine the program for others. Notably, the workshop design intentionally avoided traditional PowerPoint presentations.

Workshop Delivery

Managers played a central role in delivering the program. For this organization, it was unusual to ask managers to present key messages to cross-departmental groups of employees.

However, this approach reinforced that the initiative was not another “flavor-of-the-month” training program. Instead, it was a leadership-driven effort aimed at creating meaningful and sustainable cultural change.

Key Findings

The pilot included simple pre- and post-program assessments based on behaviors identified by senior leadership. Participation reached 100% during both the pilot and subsequent rollouts.

One notable outcome was how quickly the program’s language entered everyday conversations. Managers and employees began referring to examples of “pro-achieving” behavior in the workplace.

Managers also shifted their coaching approach. For instance, instead of asking why a project was behind schedule, they asked, “Did you do everything within your control to move this project forward?” Conversations about communication similarly focused on whether different approaches could have added more value.

The program helped drive cultural change because of the ease of applying the pro-achievement attributes, combined with the everyday use of the language associated with pro-achievement.

Measured improvements included:

• Greater willingness to express opposing views (50% to 80%)
• Increased mindfulness before speaking (60% to 88%)
• Improved ability to recover from mistakes or setbacks (61% to 76%)
• Better control of personal attitude (70% to 87%)
• More than 70% of supervisors reported adding greater value at work
• Over 72% expressed greater willingness to take initiative

Participants also reported applying the principles in their personal lives, including improvements in diet, exercise and overall well-being.

Where the Program Stands Today

Three years later, the program continues to expand across departments and is now included in onboarding for new employees. Managers and supervisors deliver the workshops, while the training department oversees the process to ensure alignment with organizational values and goals.

Within the company, the Pro-Achievement Principle program has developed a reputation as a rare opportunity for open dialogue about a different take on performance, responsibility and value creation. Participants consistently say the experience feels less like traditional training and more like a meaningful conversation about how individuals can add value and contribute more to the organization.