The Dovetail Effect: NASA’s Hidden Leadership Weapon

Here is a story I love.

It’s 1962. JFK is touring NASA for the first time.

He walks past a janitor holding a mop and casually asks, “What do you do here?”

Without missing a beat, the janitor replies,

“I’m helping put a man on the moon.”

That line has echoed through time not because of what he did, but because of how he saw what he did.

He wasn’t just cleaning a floor. He was part of a mission.

This is the power of dovetailing:

When you get it right, you create something magical:

• A sense of ownership.

• A sense of pride.

• A deep, intrinsic drive.

You go from compliance to commitment.

And your team might even rewrite history too.

HOW MODERN GIANTS ARE IMPLEMENTING THIS TECHNIQUE

Fast forward to today.

At SpaceX, engineers often work brutal hours. Why?

Because they believe in Elon Musk’s mission: “To make life multi-planetary.”

One engineer said:

Their personal aspirations (innovation, legacy, exploration) dovetail with the company’s world-changing goals.

A Patagonia store employee once shared:

Their mission-driven brand attracts people who care about climate, so working at Patagonia becomes an extension of their identity.

None of these roles are glamorous. But they’re meaningful.

Because the individual saw themselves in the mission.

YOUR CHALLENGE THIS WEEK: CREATE THE DOVETAILING EFFECT IN YOUR TEAM

As leaders, it’s easy to focus on performance goals, KPIs, and strategy.

But we miss the human behind the role.

And we forget that meaning is a multiplier.

Here’s the challenge for you this week:

1) Find out their personal “why”

What drives your team? What are they trying to become?

Few truly know what their people want to become.

Most leaders know what their company wants to achieve.

If you don’t know someone’s personal goals, how can you help them connect to the mission?

👉 Example: Google’s “20% Time”

Google famously allowed employees to spend 20% of their time on projects they cared about.

That policy gave birth to Gmail, Google Maps, and AdSense.

Why? Because it gave people space to pursue their own “why” inside the broader company context.

👉 Example: Netflix Culture Deck

Netflix encourages managers to ask:

Then they try to create that opportunity inside the company.

👉 Action:

Start your 1:1s with a non-work question:

Help them write a ‘Personal Mission Statement.’

Build that into development conversations.

2) Connect their personal why to the mission

How does their role move the big picture forward?

• Look for the overlaps with your company’s mission.

• Show how their role contributes to the bigger vision.

That intersection point is where the magic happens.

The goal isn’t just to get your people to work harder.

It’s to help them believe that the work matters.

Because when they believe that, you won’t need to push them.

👉 Example: Tesla Production Staff

On Tesla’s production floor, Elon Musk regularly reminds workers that they aren’t just “installing parts,” they’re accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

It’s not a job, it’s a revolution. That framing matters.

👉 Action:

In team meetings, connect updates back to impact:

Create internal comms rituals (like monthly “Mission Moments”) to reinforce this narrative.

3) Make it visible

Celebrate impact, not just performance.

What you celebrate becomes what people believe matters.

👉 Example: Airbnb “Hero Moments”

Airbnb highlights stories of employees going above and beyond to protect the community, not just hit targets.

These stories become folklore and folklore shapes culture.

👉 Example: Microsoft’s “Hack for Good”

Employees are encouraged to work on socially impactful projects.

These aren’t side projects. They’re celebrated, showcased, and often implemented into core products.

People feel seen for who they are, not just what they do.

👉 Action:

Start a “Spotlight” series in Slack or in your all-hands.

Celebrate stories of mission-alignment, not just metrics.

Ask: “Who lived the mission this week?” then tell that story loud.

The best cultures don’t just run on discipline.

They run on belief.

You can’t force belief.

But you can design for it.

And the best way to do that?

Dovetail your people’s personal dreams with your company’s big mission.

When the two align, effort becomes effortless.

MY TOP FINDS OF THE WEEK 🏆

For Your Performance

• The best graphic you will see all week on performance (The Champion’s Path)

For Your Team

• Great analogy to use when analysing the makeup of your team (Bad apples vs energy givers)

For Your Health

• Why pomegranate is often the missing ingredient for a healthy diet (7 New Year Health Hacks)