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Key Takeaways Most performance issues aren’t talent gaps — they’re communication gaps: vague expectations, unsafe environments and assumed understanding that was never confirmed.
Three habits fix most of them: run new initiatives through five clarity questions, replace “any questions?” with “how do you see this working?” and hold a weekly check-in on priorities, obstacles and support needed.
Most leaders assume performance problems start with talent. When a project misses the mark or engagement drops, the instinct is to question whether the right people are in the right seats. After years of leading schools, I have learned a different lesson: most performance problems are communication problems wearing a talent costume.
The people on your team may be highly capable. The real question is whether they have the support required to perform at their best. I learned this long before I became a business owner. I learned it standing in a classroom.
People don’t know what’s expected
As a teacher, I quickly discovered that capability and performance are two different things. I had students who were eager to learn but struggled to complete assignments or meet expectations. It would have been easy to label them as underperformers. Instead, I learned to ask a better question: have I made success clear enough for them to achieve it?
The same lesson applies to adults. One of the biggest mistakes I made early in leadership was assuming that because I explained something, people understood it. I would paint beautiful pictures of the future I was building and walk everyone through the reasoning behind a decision, believing that all that explanation would create understanding. People were still leaving meetings with unanswered questions — chief among them: how does this affect me?
When expectations are vague, people fill in the blanks themselves. That creates inevitable confusion and frustration. Whenever I introduce a new initiative or process now, I run it through five questions:
What needs to happen?
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