Be honest, how many times have you thought to yourself…
“Why do they ask me so many questions all day?”
“Why aren’t they taking more initiative?”
“Why do they keep getting this wrong?”
I’ve totally been guilty of this, too.
It’s hard not to get frustrated when a team member isn’t doing things the way you want.
But the real issue often isn’t the team member. It’s that expectations haven’t been clearly communicated, or consistently reinforced.
Team members aren’t mind readers. And in many cases, they work with multiple business owners who all have completely different preferences.
One CEO might say:
“If you have any questions, stop and ask me first. I don’t want mistakes.”
But another might say:
“Don’t ask me anything, just figure it out. Progress over perfection.”
Both are totally valid approaches, but if your team doesn’t know which one you prefer, they’ll default to whatever worked in previous roles (or whatever feels more natural to them). And that might not match your expectations.
Where things really get messy? When your actions don’t actually line up with your words.
You might not even realize you’re doing it.
It might look like this:
You tell your team, “I want you to figure things out on your own.”
But then, every time they ask a question, you respond immediately with the answer. What happens? They ask more questions because you’ve unintentionally trained them to depend on you.
Or, another example:
You say, “Progress over perfection. Just get it done.”
But when they make a mistake, you get upset. Now they’re confused, unsure if speed or accuracy matters more. They start looking to you for more guidance and decisions because they’re trying to avoid doing it “wrong.”
So, the takeaway here is to:
- Get clear on what “great work” actually looks like to you.
- Communicate those expectations and desires clearly with your team.
- Show up in a way that matches what you’re asking of them.
When your team knows what’s expected, and they’re encouraged when they get it right, it builds their confidence. Over time, they start making stronger decisions and become more self-sufficient. And that’s when things start to feel more effortless (not just for them, but for you too).
