If the focus is on problems and what they don’t like, employees’ ways of relating will tend to foster and perpetuate the Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT)® and its interplay of the roles of Victim, Persecutor and Rescuer—all roles that cause workers to become disenchanted and disengaged.

When workers (and teams) live and work from the Problem Orientation, action-steps are normally reactions to the problems they face. They tend to react to whatever problem comes up in the moment, looking to complain or blame. When they adopt an outcome focused Creator Orientation, the capacity of individuals, teams and the organization increases. They learn to relate through the roles of TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic), which are the roles of Creator, Challenger and Coach. This results in new and engaging ways of communicating and relating to one another. Now passion and creativity fuel engagement.

When employees live and work from the Outcome (Creator) Orientation, and relate to others as Creators, Challengers and Coaches, the actions they take are small steps—Baby Steps—in service to what they want to create. The Dynamic Tension planning process is introduced in this third Vital Question as a structure for learning to take action that provides momentum toward moving closer to—and getting clearer about —envisioned and desired outcomes. They learn to tackle problems and choose their response to obstacles when they arise, while always keeping their focus on the outcomes.