So, what is actually happening below the surface and what can you do to help the managers get out of the ditch and up on the road, remembering that there are two kilometers of ditch for every kilometer of road?

Here are simple, Square Wheels–style approaches you can put in a supervisor’s hands immediately, tied to each surface complaint and digging deeper.​ This is NOT a detailed Certified Training Program; it is just a short plunge into some general ideas about what you might choose to do differently to better enable performance improvement and collaboration in a workgroup.

Some possible actions for the Actual Issues

1. “People don’t communicate”

• Run a 10‑minute wagon-discussion huddle
  Use the main Square Wheels wagon image that you can get for FREE and ask, “Where are our communication Square Wheels right now?” Capture specific examples (missed handoffs, unclear priorities) on a flip chart.​ Get people talking about issues and opportunities and challenge the beliefs by asking simple questions.

• Co-create one Round Wheel
  Ask, “What is one simple wheel we can try this week to smooth information flow?” (e.g., standard 5‑minute shift handoff, simple whiteboard, common chat channel). Agree, test for a week, review. Generating ideas about round wheels to address Square Wheel problems is pretty damn easy!

2. “There’s too much conflict and drama”

• Make conflict a process issue, not a people issue
  Show the wagon and ask, “Which Square Wheels in our process are causing friction between people?” Get them to name policies, workflows, or unclear roles that create collisions.

• Use the image as a neutral mediator
  When two people are at odds, sit them down with the picture and ask, “Looking at this, where does the wagon make it hard for both of you?” Then co-create one round wheel idea, rule or checkpoint to reduce repeat conflicts.

3. “My team isn’t engaged or motivated”

• Shift to “dis‑un‑engagement”
  Use Square Wheels to ask the group: “What parts of the wagon make it hard to care?” Let them list frustrations; then ask, “Which one or two could we improve locally in the next two weeks?” By sharing their ideas about doing things differently, you are involving and engaging them — but you MUST take some action to make some changes or remove some roadblocks.

• Turn complaints into improvement experiments
  For each demotivator, ask, “What’s a Round Wheel version of this?” Turn their ideas into tiny experiments with owners, dates, and a quick follow-up huddle. Generate some cognitive dissonance around the reality of Square Wheels and the possibilities of using some round ones instead.

4. “Performance is inconsistent”

• Make the work visible
  Draw your team’s wagon with them, “What are the current wheels for training, checklists, tools, and feedback?” Have them circle where the wheels are “square” for some people but not others. Talk about round wheel best practices and ideas for doing things differently.

• Standardize one Round Wheel at a time
  Ask, “What’s one Round Wheel practice that our best performers already use that we can all adopt?” Turn that into a shared standard, then repeat for the next Square Wheel.

Don’t allow “Continuous Unimprovement”
to be the operating paradigm in the workgroup.

5. “Turnover is killing us”

• Explore the “leaving” Square Wheels
  In a team discussion, use the wagon to ask, “If someone were thinking of leaving, what Square Wheels here would push them out?” and what round wheels might hold them in. Let them talk; capture themes of improvement without debate. Give them a better sense of ownership involvement and do things with them.

• Build one Retention Round Wheel
  Ask, “What’s one improvement that would make it easier to stay?” (e.g., clearer schedules, better cross-training, recognition rituals). Implement one quickly and publicize that it came from the team. Being part of an effective team is one way to generate more active involvement and reduce frustration with the reality of the workplace.

6. “We’re short-staffed and overloaded”

• Separate real load from Square Wheels
  Use the image to distinguish unavoidable load (the wagon contents) from dumb friction (Square Wheels) stuff. Ask, “What part of our overload is caused by bad wheels we can actually change?” Look to minimize or eliminate the petty annoying stuff or add some positive structure to the workplace.

• Remove low-value friction
  Have the team identify one or two tasks, reports, or approvals that add little value but consume time and energy. Use the wagon metaphor upward to ask leaders to approve dropping or simplifying them.

7. “People resist change”

• Normalize resistance as wheel awareness
  Show the wagon and say, “When we change routes or loads, the Square Wheels show up more. What wheels feel especially Square with this change?” This frames resistance as useful data. Understand that people resist change done TO them but generally resist less when they are involved in the change — do things WITH them.

• Co-design Round Wheels for the change
  Ask, “If this change has to happen, what Round Wheels would make it less painful?” Capture quick wins (better instructions, extra support, temporary workarounds) and implement a few fast.

8. “They need more training”

• Diagnose the real wheel first
  In a huddle, use the picture and ask, “Is this really a skill gap, or is it a Square Wheel in process, tools, or clarity?” Have the team label where the real friction sits before ordering training.

• Use peer Round Wheel teaching
  Identify who already has a “rounder wheel” and set up short, on-the-job demos, using the wagon metaphor to show that the team is just sharing better wheels, not fixing broken people. Best practices already exist within any workgroup so get people talking and sharing their ideas.

9. “I don’t have enough time for people stuff”

• Embed Square Wheels into existing huddles
  Instead of adding meetings, ask supervisors to use one image and one question in the meetings they already run: “What’s one Square Wheel we can work on this week?” Ten minutes, then back to work.​ Followup. Do things differently.

• Make “working on the wagon” a visible priority
  Encourage supervisors to track Round Wheel experiments on a simple board so leaders see that time spent on people and process is producing fewer problems and smoother performance.

10. “HR/leadership doesn’t support us”

• Use the image to speak truth safely upward
  Equip supervisors with the wagon and their team’s list of Square Wheels to share with leaders: “Here’s what the wagon looks like from here, and here are three Round Wheels we want to test.”​

• Ask for support on specific Round Wheels
  Instead of general complaints, frame requests as: “If you can help us implement this one Round Wheel (policy change, tool, headcount tweak), here’s the benefit we expect for output and engagement.”