There’s an unspoken expectation I see a lot in online businesses:
“My team should already know how to support me.”
And I get it. You’ve hired smart, capable people. You’ve created SOPs. Everything should be working smoothly…but it still feels heavier than it should.
You start to wonder if you’re missing something. You feel like you’ve been clear in what you’re asking of them, so why is there still a breakdown happening? Is your team not as capable as you thought? Are you bad at delegating?
Here’s the thing no one really talks about:
Your team doesn’t automatically know how to support you on a higher level. Not because they’re incapable or they don’t care, but because most team members have never been taught what that actually looks like.
Most people are trained to take direction, not ownership.
They’re taught to check off tasks, but not how to think strategically. They’re told to “be proactive,” but rarely shown what that means in the context of a specific business.
Here’s how I think of it:
Strong teams begin with strong leadership. And strong leadership begins with clarity.
Clarity in roles.
Clarity in expectations.
Clarity in how to think, not just what to do.
When you give your team the tools to better understand how to support you, they will.
If you’re not sure where to get started, here’s a simple, specific step you can take:
Make a copy of our Team Expectations Template, then set aside an hour to fill it out. Better yet, schedule a call with your VA or OBM to fill it out together over Zoom.
Here’s why this works:
- The questions in the template help you to get clarity on exactly what you want and expect
- Putting it in writing helps to make it feel more like policy and less like a random thing you said one time
- Having a specific resource that your team can reference allows them to know where to go to find certain answers before bringing them to you
- Reviewing the document together allows for your team to ask follow up questions or clarification and it helps to make the information stick
Get started with the template now.
And don’t forget—As the owner, you lead and set the stage for how your team operates. But teaching your team how to think on a higher level doesn’t have to fall solely on your shoulders. That’s why I created the Team Empowerment Program- designed to give your team the kind of training most people assume they already have. It gives your VA or OBM the tools to step up, think strategically, and support you in the way you’ve always hoped they would. Learn more about it here.
