The 1-3-1 Method: Complaints to Empowered Employees

When a team member spots a problem no one else has noticed yet, what does your team do with it?

Most people answer that question the same way: they point it out. Loudly, clearly, sometimes repeatedly. What they rarely do is follow it with a solution. And that one missing piece is the difference between being seen as a problem solver and being seen as a complainer — especially in a room full of leadership and executives. So how do you train your team to be problem solvers, not just complainers?

Pointing out flaws feels productive in the moment. However, without a solution attached, a complaint is just noise — even when the observation behind it is completely valid. Best-selling author and keynote speaker Jon Gordon built an entire concept around this idea in his "No Complaining Rule": don't complain unless you follow it up with a solution. It's a simple standard, but it changes how you and others in leadership hear team members the moment they start applying it.

The good news is that solution-oriented thinking isn't a trait some people are just born with. It's a method — one you can teach your team to practice until it becomes a habit. That's where the 1-3-1 method comes in: a simple, widely-taught framework built to turn a nagging observation into a real recommendation.

The first move is identifying the actual root of the problem — not the surface-level effects of it — and being able to state it clearly. This step lives or dies on focus: one problem at a time, and the true source of it, not just the fallout it's causing. Teach your team to use the "5 Whys" framework by Taiichi Ohno from Toyota Production System and founder of Lean Manufacturing principles. The idea is that most problems have deeper causes than the first explanation that comes to mind, and asking “why” multiple times forces them past those initial answers.

Once the root problem is clear, the next step is generating three possible solutions. Not one. Not five. Three forces your team to actually think through the problem from more than one angle instead of leading with the first idea that comes to mind.

The last step is choosing which of your three solutions your team believes is the strongest path forward — and being ready to explain why. This is what separates 1-3-1 from just brainstorming out loud. Your team is no longer just handing leadership another problem to solve. They're handing them a clear path and asking for a decision.

The 1-3-1 method does more than fix the problem in front of your team. It builds the habit of them thinking before reacting — training them to pause, dig for the root, and arrive with options instead of just an observation. So the next time your team brings a problem to you. Teach them to articulate the root clearly, bring three solutions, and make their recommendation. Empower your team to own the process of discovery and problem solving. Then reinforce the 1-3-1 method habit by celebrating those improvements by your team. When you see that everyone on your team can play a part in solving problems for your organization, everyone wins. When your team wins, you win.