Something feels off.... Not sure what it is.

Happy Friday,

This week I had a really interesting conversation with a hotel director, and it left me thinking long after we finished chatting.

We both found ourselves saying the same thing...

“I don’t even know how to explain this frustration.”

He was sharing how he cannot believe some of the decisions his team are making, the lack of logic, the lack of thinking things through.

And I found myself saying something very similar...

“I just wish people would do what they are supposed to do.”

And the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I’ve had this same conversation multiple times this week.

With a friend in retail.

With my brother in manufacturing.

Across completely different industries.

And yet... the feeling is the same.

🤯 Let me give you two real examples from this week:

One team member had a task with a deadline.

When I followed up, the response was:

👉 “I’ve been busy with other things, I’ll get to it.”

That task wasn’t one or two days late...

It was two weeks overdue.

Another situation:

A task wasn’t completed because the team member was

👉 “waiting for feedback from someone else.”

So instead of following up, pushing, or finding a way forward...

The task simply stood still.

And this is where the frustration comes in.

It’s not one big issue.

It’s lots of small things.

Things not being followed through.

Things not being thought through.

Things just… not being done properly.

And I know many of you reading this have felt exactly the same.

So what actually is this feeling?

After reflecting on it, I believe it comes down to this:

👉 A gap between responsibility and ownership

Staff are doing tasks...

...but they are not thinking about the outcome.

They are present...

...but not accountable.

They are busy...

...but not intentional.

💡 So what do we do about it?

As owners and managers, we can’t sit in the frustration, we have to lead through it.

1️⃣ Stop assuming — start verifying

We often take a “yes” at face value.

👉 “Yes, it’s done”

👉 “Yes, I posted it”

👉 “Yes, I’ll get to it”

But this week reminded me, we need to check, not to catch people out, but to lead properly.

Because what gets checked, gets done properly.

2️⃣ Stop accepting “busy” and “waiting” as reasons

“Busy” is not a result.

And “waiting” is not progress.

If something is two weeks overdue, it’s not a time issue, it’s a priority issue.

If something is waiting on someone else, then the question is:

👉 What are you doing to move it forward?

Ownership means progress, not pause.

3️⃣ Move from tasks to thinking

We need to train our teams to ask:

👉 “What is the outcome of this?”

👉 “Does this make sense?”

👉 “Is this complete?”

Not just:

👉 “Did I do it?”

Because ticking a box is not the same as delivering a result.

4️⃣ Raise the standard (and hold it)

If we accept “almost done”…

“kind of right”…

“most of the time”…

That becomes the standard.

We have to be very clear:

✔ What does “done properly” look like?

✔ What does “daily” actually mean?

✔ What is acceptable and what is not?

Because clarity removes confusion and standards drive performance.

✨ Final thought

Maybe the frustration we are all feeling right now is not about people...

Maybe it’s about a lack of ownership being accepted without us realising it.

And the opportunity for us as leaders is to reset that.

To be clearer.

To check more.

To expect more.

Because when everyone truly takes ownership everything changes.

Have a beautiful weekend and week ahead, and as always stay focused, stay intentional, and keep leading. 

Hugs and kisses,

MARISA