Sometimes little things have big effects. Years ago a friend of mine, after leaving the Army, became the manager of a large retail chain store with 300 employees and a slew of issues.

After interviewing a good portion of her workforce, Tracey was overwhelmed with the sheer volume of problems that surfaced. Unsure where to begin, she picked a complaint she heard from a number of women: the locks on the bathroom stalls were all broken.

Discovering it was a simple fix, she got a screwdriver and repaired the stall locks herself. She then moved on to more “important” matters.

Tracey is an amazing leader and went on to transform that store. Employee engagement rose. Turnover dropped. Profits soared. If you ask many on her staff when the turnaround began, women—and men—say it all started with the locks on the bathroom stalls.

They claim no store manager had ever really listened to what they needed and done something about it. It convinced them Tracey was on their side, and they decided to be on her side as well.

In 1943, Abraham Maslow introduced a psychological theory of human motivation that arranged human needs in a tiered model. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs suggested that foundational needs must be met first before a person will seek to fulfill higher-level needs.

Basic needs consist of things like food, water, safety, and security; while psychological needs include things like relationships, accomplishments, prestige, and purpose.

All too often I see leaders try to sell their vision, mission or values, without first listening to and addressing the basic needs of their followers. People need to know you’re on their side. This is what the second element of trustworthiness, benevolence, is all about.

It doesn’t take much. Sometimes, it’s just tightening a few screws.

For Reflection: What unmet need can you address in your sphere of influence today?