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Making it a win-win
By Bethany Fishbein, OD
April 9, 2025
Leadership is full of tough decisions, and sometimes that means taking something away—whether it’s a responsibility, a perk or a long-standing policy that no longer serves your business. The key is making what seems like a loss a win-win.
The challenge is that no one likes making these hard decisions– especially if you feel they negatively impact your team. And from their perspective, people don’t like to feel like they’re losing something.
But what if you could make changes that benefit your practice in a way that employees actually appreciate?
You can re-frame the shift as a win—not just for the practice, but for them. This isn’t about spinning bad news. It’s about being intentional, recognizing what truly matters to your team and structuring change in a way that aligns with their interests.
Finding the Win-Win Opportunity
The first step in giving while taking away is understanding what employees truly value. Sometimes what they care about isn’t what you’d expect.
A great example is a client of mine who was frustrated with his office manager who he felt wasn’t doing the job he expected. Although she was supposed to be managing the team, she seemed to avoid conversations with co-workers and patients, and more and more frequently seemed to be retreating to the back of the office to work on her computer. He questioned whether he needed to let her go, and started to make plans to recruit a new manager.
Through a series of conversations and powerful questions, he realized he didn’t want to lose this valuable employee– he just wanted to change her position. He approached her with curiosity and uncovered that she had a real interest in billing—something she enjoyed and excelled at far more than managing people.
Instead of presenting a demotion as a loss, he framed it as an opportunity: she could now focus on what she was good at and interested in, while he brought in a new manager to lead the team. The result? She felt relieved and excited for a new challenge.
Creating a Win-Win Policy
Another example comes from my own practice. Although we offer lots of employee benefits (sick days and vacation time, paid lunch, health and dental insurance, IRA match, etc., plus free glasses and contacts!) employees seemed to be fixated on hourly pay. As big-box stores and fast food seem to be posting ever-higher starting wages, we started to question whether our salaries were “more enough” to attract and retain great people.
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I think it became crystal clear when we made an offer to a candidate, and he declined. Why? His current job paid $1/hour more. The irony was that in his current role, he wasn’t paid for lunch or the time he spent driving between offices, often losing an hour or more a day. At $20/hour, he was actually making less daily than he would have made with us at $19/hour for a full 8-hour day – but all he could see was a pay cut.
So this year, we changed our policy to make lunch unpaid rather than paid – and in return, we gave each of our employees a $2/hour raise. Because we were paying fewer hours (and reducing/eliminating overtime), this had minimal impact on the business – while employees were thrilled with their higher hourly pay, and we’re in a better position to attract new talent with a higher starting wage.
The Psychology of Framing Change to Win-Win
So, why does this work? It all comes down to how people perceive loss versus gain.
Studies show that people are loss-averse—we tend to dislike losing something more than we like gaining something of the same value. But when a change is framed in a way that emphasizes the benefit rather than the loss, people respond more positively.
The goal isn’t to manipulate—it’s to be strategic about how you structure and communicate change. Employees need to see how the shift directly benefits them, whether it’s a new opportunity, higher pay, reduced stress or a better work-life balance.
How to Communicate the Win-Win Shift Effectively
When implementing a change that takes something away, ask yourself these key questions:
- What’s the real win for the employee? If you can’t identify a genuine benefit, it will feel like a loss no matter how you spin it. If there isn’t a real win, don’t pretend there is – be honest, acknowledge the impact, express regret and move on.
- What’s the true positive here? Lead with the benefit, not the loss. Instead of saying, “We’re taking this away,” say, “We’re making this change so that you can…”
- What’s the employee perspective? Try to see the change through their eyes. If there’s resistance, address it head-on.
- Can you involve them in the process? People are more likely to accept change when they feel like they have a say in it.
The Bottom Line: Creating the True Win-Win
As a leader, you’ll sometimes have to make decisions that could be seen as taking something away. But when you do it right—when you create a true win-win—you build trust, engagement and loyalty instead of resentment.
Great leadership isn’t about avoiding hard choices; it’s about making those choices in a way that serves both your practice and your people.
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Bethany Fishbein, OD, is a practice owner, practice management consultant and certified executive coach. She can be reached at bethany@leadersofvision.com
