Many connection programs fail by targeting the wrong level of the problem, not because of poor execution.

Disconnection at work is structural, relational, or individual—and each requires a different response.

Diagnosis before design is the step that determines whether any intervention will work.

This post is co-authored by Nathaniel Sabater (Annecy Behavioral Science Lab), Mariangel Maldonado (former head of well-being at Booking.com), and Hans Rocha IJzerman.

Every year, organizations roll out empathy training, wellness programs, mentoring schemes, and team rituals. Engagement scores shift in some teams. In others, nothing moves. Leadership concludes that the initiative needed stronger buy-in, better facilitation, or more budget. They try again next quarter with a slightly different version of the same thing.

Here is a harder explanation: The problem was often never the program. It was the problem selection.

Organizations frequently invest in solutions before identifying the actual source of their disconnection. The result is not just wasted resources. It is something more damaging: employees who engage with initiatives that leave their core frustrations untouched and who eventually stop believing that leadership understands what they are actually experiencing. Over time, responsibility tends to shift toward individuals—people are encouraged to adapt to conditions that are better addressed at the system or team level. This is not a failure of intent. It is a challenge of problem selection.

This is why diagnosis must come before design.

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