Welcome back to CardCast! Today, we’re going to be talking about The 1-3-1 Principle

Do you ever feel like your day disappears into answering questions, making small decisions, and unblocking things your team should be able to handle?

When you’re the one everyone relies on for answers, being “helpful” can quietly turn into becoming the bottleneck.

The 1-3-1 Principle is a simple but powerful leadership tool that changes how problems are brought forward. Instead of arriving with a question alone, people come with:

• 1 clearly defined problem

• 3 solutions they’ve already thought through

• 1 recommendation they believe is best.

The focus shifts from asking for answers to demonstrating judgment and ownership.

Shifting from “builder of the thing” to “builder of the team” creates leverage, improves decision quality, and frees leaders to work on what truly requires their perspective.

The 1-3-1 Principle is about developing people who can think, decide, and act with confidence, so leaders can step out of the weeds and into the work of leading.

Key-Card points:

• Being the answer creates a bottleneck

• Asking “What do you recommend?” builds ownership.

• Leaders evaluate judgment, not just solutions.

• Teams grow more confident and proactive.

Links & Resources

• The 1-3-1 Principle

• Veverka.ca

Connect with Milan

• Veverka.ca

• LinkedIn

Connect with Ged

• Crystalyzer.com

• LinkedIn

CardCast is produced by Lovemore Media.