Chapter 11 | One Word at a Time

Imani Rhodes

My manager, Carla, leaned against my cubicle one hectic Thursday morning — the kind where everyone’s rushing, emails stacking, coffee going cold. She didn’t bark orders or ask for updates; she just looked at me and said, “Imani, what’s one word you want to be known for here?” No warning, no context — just that. I remember blinking at her, mid-scroll, thinking, one word? She waited, calm, the way good leaders do when they’re not in a hurry to fill silence. Finally, I said, “Grounded.” She smiled like I’d given her a clue to something. From that day on, she led me through that word. When things got messy, she’d say, “Take a breath — stay grounded.” When I handled a tough call, she’d say, “That’s you, grounded.” And I started to see myself that way. It changed how I showed up — not just what I did, but who I was becoming. Pretty soon, the whole team had their words — “Reliable,” “Builder,” “Curious,” “Steady” — taped to their desks or screens. You could feel it. The room started to run on something quieter but stronger — ownership, purpose, connection. That’s the kind of leadership that stays with you. It doesn’t need a title or a handbook — just one question that makes you look up from your checklist and remember who you’re trying to be.

Jake Ramirez

Okay, that’s pretty powerful. I don’t know if my first boss would've ever asked me that, though. If he had, my word, back then? Might’ve been “Sweaty.” Or maybe “Unstoppable.” Actually, now that I think about it, those two kind of describe every summer job I ever had. But man, if someone had asked me for my one word back then, it probably would’ve helped me focus, like, on the kind of leader I wanted to become instead of just, you know, surviving the day and counting hours till lunch. I feel like this one-word thing isn’t just about personal branding—it's about shaping the team vibe, too.

Imani Rhodes

Exactly, it sets this baseline for trust and culture. When everyone knows what you’re aiming for—when your teammates know your word and you know theirs—suddenly it’s not just about getting through Monday. It’s, like, we’re building something real together. Like you’ve been woven into the fabric of the team in a way that feels intentional.

Jake Ramirez

Yeah, so it’s not just your job title holding you in place. It’s more… you pick your anchor and the team kind of orbits around those anchors, if that makes sense. I mean, it sounds simple, but sometimes the simple stuff hits hardest.

Jake Ramirez

Okay, so how does this work if you’re the manager? Like, I run a couple crews, right? If I sit a bunch of folks down and go, “Alright, what’s your word?”. How do I not make-it-weird?

Imani Rhodes

It’s all about the way you ask. If you genuinely care, people know. Plus, you can be honest—just say, “Hey, I want to know what matters to you because, well, it's my job and I care, and if we’re gonna do this together, I need to know what is important to you.” I had teammates pick words like “Reliable,” “Builder,” or “Curious.” When you know that, the feedback changes. Suddenly you’re coaching them toward what they want, not just what you need from them.

Jake Ramirez

Right, right—if someone picks “Builder,” then if they’re crushing it on training someone new or stepping up on the next big job, you can actually point to that and say, “Hey, you’re living your word.” It feels way more human than, “Good job, now go do it again.”

Imani Rhodes

Totally. I’ll never forget one teammate—her word was “Curious.” She wanted to ask more questions, get better at ideas, but she was quiet in meetings. So instead of critiquing her for not speaking up, we started celebrating her questions, and you’d be amazed—suddenly, team brainstorms were her thing. It wasn’t magic, but it changed the energy, you know?

Jake Ramirez

It goes both ways too—if their one word’s slipping, you got a way to bring it up that’s way less awkward, and way more about the person than their mistakes. Like, “Hey, you said you wanted to be known as ‘Reliable,’ but you’ve been late a couple times—what’s up?” instead of just barking at ‘em. To me that’s what real coaching looks like.

Imani Rhodes

This is the part that really shifts a team. Like, if you treat people as just their job title—Line Cook, Tech, whatever—you miss all the nuances that make them who they are. But when everyone’s got a personal value word, you start seeing the human behind the uniform. The practice gets really useful when you circle back—like, using those one words in check-ins, actually pointing them out: “When you paused the meeting to say, ‘Wait, can we back up to how the client defines success?’—that was pure curiosity. It shifted the whole conversation.” You're reinforcing their value and their strengths to make them more effective; that's leadership 101.

Jake Ramirez

Yeah, and it’s not like, “Alright, one and done.” You gotta revisit those words. Sometimes someone starts with “Builder,” then six months later as they grow and mature they want to be known as an “Encourager” instead. So the check-ins give you a way to adjust. You know it’s working when people start calling out each other’s words, not just the manager, so it’s baked into the team, not just top-down.

Imani Rhodes

It also takes the pressure off—you don’t have to fix everything at once. You start with just asking, then celebrating. If it feels like it’s falling flat, tweak your approach. Maybe you need to ask differently, or model it yourself. The point is to keep it alive and keep it real. Before you know it, you’re not managing roles—you’re building a team that’s actually woven together by purpose, by meaning. Alright, Jake, last words before we sign off?

Jake Ramirez

Start with yourself. Pick your one word, be honest, and if it feels goofy, do it anyway. No one gets remembered for hiding who they are at work. Tell it to your team and peers, tell them how you want to be held accountable to it.

Imani Rhodes

Ok this is a powerful one, let's end it right here. See you all in chapter 12.