Are they playing in the same sandbox with others, quietly working away with excellence?
Most leaders approach underperformance as a talent problem. We think, “I need better people,” or “I need more A players.” But after a decade of coaching high growth teams, I’ve realized a hard truth. There is an upper end of whom we may rank as “B players” who are willing, ready, and able to become “A players”.
They may just be playing in a poorly designed sandbox. The better teammate you’re looking for is already on your payroll, they are just waiting for the right conditions to emerge.
AI Spoiler Alert. Add to this, some of these teammates might be on the forefront of leading the AI charge at your Company.
If your team is struggling with friction, silos, or playing well together, it’s rarely a personality clash. It’s a boundary problem.
1. The Architecture of the Sandbox
Think of a literal sandbox. Children play harmoniously when the edges are clearly defined. They know where the sand ends and the grass begins. Within those wooden borders, they have total freedom to build, destroy, and create.
In business, your Sandbox consists of three things:
- Clear Non-Negotiables: What are the 3 values we never break?
- Defined Objectives: What does winning look like this quarter?
- The Rules of Engagement: How do we handle disagreement? Is there a spirit of open & honest communication without retribution?
When the edges of your professional sandbox are blurry, your team spends 50% of their mental energy on self preservation worrying about stepping on toes or overstepping authority. When you define the edges, that energy is redirected toward innovation.
Herein lies an opportunity to be intentional vs having an ad hoc culture. If your company has core values, how many of your teammates can recite them?
2. Finding the “Better Teammate” Inside
Every person on your team has a better version of themselves, the version that is proactive, empathetic, and courageous. As a leader, your job isn’t to force that person out, it’s to invite them out. Keep a close eye on the quiet ones, introverted teammates may be screaming inside with ideas & excellence, waiting to be asked, listened to, or discovered.
You do this by shifting from a Judge to an Architect.
- The Judge looks at a mistake and sees a flawed employee.
- The Architect looks at a mistake and asks, “What was missing in the sandbox that allowed this to happen?”
When people feel safe enough to be clumsy while learning, they stop hiding their mistakes. And when mistakes aren’t hidden, they can be solved. This is how you transition from a group of individuals into a cohesive gang.
3. Reinforcing the Right “Play”
How do you cement this culture? You could use Power of Surprise.
Standard bonuses are expected, they are part of the contract. But a Surprise Bonus given specifically for Sandbox Behaviors like helping a teammate meet a deadline or admitting a mistake early acts as a cultural heat map. It tells the entire team “This is the behavior that makes the sandbox work.”
It doesn’t have to be a massive check. It can be a gift card, a half day off, or a public shout out. The goal is to catch someone being that better teammate and shine a spotlight on it. Oldie but a goodie, the book The One Minute Manager speaks to this. Catching teammates doing things right!
The Bottom Line
Stop looking for unicorns and start looking at your sandbox. If the sand is rocky and the borders are broken, even a unicorn will look like a donkey.
Define the play area, protect the boundaries, and watch the better teammate inside your people finally step into the light.
Sandbox behaviors are NOT fake news!