Confusion looks a lot like underperformance - do you know the difference?
13 June 2025
It’s easy to get frustrated when progress stalls.
The natural instinct?
“Why aren’t they delivering?”
It sounds like a fair question but it often leads to blame, pressure, and assumptions.
The better question … the coaching question … is:
“What clarity or direction might be missing?”
In my experience, more often than not, failed or delayed delivery is a symptom of:
Unclear priorities
Unclear expectations
Silent confusion
Misaligned measures of success
When you ask about clarity, you shift from judgment to curiosity.
You move away from frustration to problem-solving and from potential pressure to creating partnerships.
Try this shift in your next 1:1 or team meeting:
Instead of saying, “Why isn’t this done yet?”
Ask, “What part of this feels unclear? If any part of this will fail, what will it be?”
Or, “What does ‘done/done’ look like in this instance? How will we know?”
Or, “Tell me what you just learned about this. Sell me on its value.”
The delivery gap might not be a capability issue (it rarely is).
It might just be a clarity issue.
Final Thought
Before you tighten your grip, widen your lens.
The gap you see in delivery might not be laziness, defiance, or lack of skill … it might be fog.
And fog is your cue, not to push harder, but to lead clearer.
Great leaders don’t just ask for results.
They illuminate the path ahead.
Clarity isn’t a nice-to-have.
It’s a performance tool, a trust builder and a multiplier.
So next time you’re tempted to ask “Why aren’t they delivering?”
Pause. Grab your lamp. Light the way.
Remember, the path to extraordinary is walked with a thousand small steps, you’re doing great!
Barry Marshall-Graham
Executive coach and leadership advisor
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