I hear a very common complaint from leadership: “My team just isn’t performing.” They’re missing deadlines, lacking “enthusiasm,” falling behind on quotas.
Most of the diagnoses I hear for this behavior sound the same. It’s some variation of: “They’re lazy.”
But most times, that’s not the case.
The truth is a lot less comfortable: Your team is most likely underperforming because you’re “underclarifying.”
If someone isn’t doing their job at a high level, there are five possible reasons why.
First, they don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing.
You may think it’s obvious; it was covered in onboarding. But if the expectations aren’t crystal clear, week to week, month to month, about what it looks like to succeed on your team, what the main priorities are, and how you define work done “right,” you’re just setting people up for failure.
Ambiguity leads to assumptions, and assumptions are a recipe for misalignment, inconsistency, and poor performance.
The second reason someone may be underperforming is that they don’t know how to do their job.
When someone struggles in their role, instead of asking, “Do they have the skills?” leaders often jump straight to, “They’re not cut out for this.” But people never enjoy things they’re bad at. A struggling salesperson hates sales, but a successful one loves it. Same role, different experience — not because of passion, but because of competence.
If someone feels like they’re failing every single day, they’re going to feel like they don’t know how to win, and ultimately they’re going to disengage.
You can change this with better training, better processes, and better leadership.
The third reason may be that they don’t have the resources.
Do they have the right tools? Access to the right systems and information? Do they get quick and correct guidance when they’re stuck? You can’t expect high performance without proper support.
Business is a team sport. If you leave your team members to figure everything out on their own, don’t be surprised when your results suffer.
Four: There is no clear process.
Consistent results require a consistent path. If someone follows your steps perfectly and still fails, the blame is on you. If they ignore them and fail, it’s on them. Businesses are composed of systems: consistent, repeatable processes for repeatable outcomes. If you don’t have them, then don’t be surprised when results are inconsistent.
The fifth and final reason is a lack of incentives.
You can’t expect people to go above and beyond if there’s nothing in it for them. And no, that doesn’t always mean money. It can often be recognition, growth, or something as simple as, “You did a great job!”
But if you only provide feedback when someone messes up, no wonder they become disengaged. Fear can drive short-term performance, but long-term, it’s a recipe for burnout, disenchantment, and resentment. Only confidence and a sense of support will push someone to do their best work, not pressure that they’ll be fired.
So before you label someone as lazy, take a step back. Ask:
- Have you clearly defined the role?
- Have you trained them on how to succeed?
- Have you given them the tools and support they need?
- Have you created a process that works?
- Have you aligned incentives with performance?
Because if the answer to any of those is no, the issue isn’t them. It’s the system you’ve put them in.
