Got a problem at work?

The big a$$ problem no one wants to tackle in your workplace thats directly affecting you...

A few years ago, I made two new friends. All three of us wanted the same thing: more friendships. We were all feeling lonely.

Fast forward two years. The other two were still stuck—complaining about how hard it is to make friends, how flaky people are, how busy everyone is, and how lonely they felt.

Me? I had built a whole network of new friendships. My mental health improved radically because I had taken action. I pushed through the discomfort, the rejection, and the doubts. I didn’t just talk about it—I did something.

The difference? Action.

Action isn’t about motivation; it’s about personal agency and self-accountability. Jack Canfield nailed it in The Success Principles: "Take 100% responsibility for your life; don’t make excuses, justifications, or play the blame game."

But here’s the thing: action—personal agency—is missing in many modern workplaces.

Workplaces have shifted from transactional (do the job, get the paycheck) to experiential (focus on well-being, inclusion, safety, career growth). And that’s good. We do need legislation and ethical frameworks to ensure physical and psychological safety.

And somewhere along the way, we started coddling team members.

Coddling creates dependency. It blurs the line between what the organisation is responsible for and what we are responsible for. For example, an organisation isn’t responsible for your entire well-being. You are. Your well-being is as unique as your DNA, and expecting an organisation to meet all your needs isn’t realistic—or fair.

When you expect a manager, leader, or organisation to cater to everything, you’re handing over your power. And let’s be real—organisations are made up of imperfect people in an imperfect world. Why give away your power to something imperfect?

Culture isn’t one-directional. It’s a partnership. It requires both parties—organisations and individuals—to show up equally. Think of your personal relationships: if one person is always giving and the other is always taking, the relationship becomes toxic.

Maybe that’s the answer to "toxic work cultures."

Culture isn’t built by coddling. It’s built by collaboration (partnership), accountability, agency, and action.

There are so many different ways to develop a greater sense of antifragility, self-accountability and personal agency in your teams and within yourself. 

Got questions about how to develop agency and accountability in your organisation?

One where your culture is built on true partnerships between teams and the business?

Or want an IWD keynote that dynamically shifts how the audience thinks and feels?

Please do reach out and send me an email at hello@winitha.com. I'd love to help.

I'd love to help.

One life. All in.