Example: Let's Say You Want to Change How Your Team Handles Meeting Overload

You're a junior analyst and notice everyone complains about being in back-to-back meetings all day, but nothing changes. Here's how to apply the 7 steps:

Step 1 - Surface the Losses: Before suggesting solutions, ask teammates: "If we had fewer meetings, what might we lose?" You'll discover hidden fears: managers worry about losing visibility into projects, senior colleagues fear missing important decisions, your boss fears looking disconnected from the team. These aren't stupid concerns - they're real losses that explain why nothing has changed.

Step 2 - Regulate the Heat: Don't start by announcing "we have too many meetings!" Instead, share one observation weekly: "We had 47 hours of meetings for our 8-person team this week." Let awareness build gradually without making anyone defensive.

Step 3 - Give the Work Back: Find someone others respect who also feels the meeting pain - maybe a senior analyst everyone trusts. Ask them: "Would you be willing to explore this with me?" Now it's not just your complaint, it's a shared investigation.

Step 4 - Honor the Past: Before criticizing current meetings, acknowledge what they accomplish: "These check-ins have kept us coordinated through some complex projects." Show you understand the value before proposing changes.

Step 5 - Surface Conflicts: When tensions emerge between "we need fewer meetings" and "we need to stay connected," facilitate the conversation: "It sounds like we value both efficiency and coordination. What would that look like?"

Step 6 - Run Safe-to-Fail Experiments: Propose: "What if we try 'Meeting-Free Wednesdays' for just our team for two weeks? If projects get derailed or anyone feels out of the loop, we immediately go back to daily check-ins."

Step 7 - Care for Yourself: Find a mentor outside your team to process frustrations when senior staff initially dismiss your observations as "not understanding how complex coordination really is."

The key difference: You're not trying to convince people meetings are bad. You're helping them explore what good coordination looks like when they're not sitting in rooms all day. The solution emerges from everyone's shared frustration, not your individual agenda.