317. Stop Blaming Your Team for This — Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast

You coach her. You remind her. You give her grace, adjust the deadline, understand her season, and hope this is finally the time it sticks. Then you're back on the ride again.

I was on a coaching call recently with a group of owners, and I asked them to think about someone on their team who isn't delivering predictably, reliably, and consistently. Not the obvious underperformer, the one everyone already knows isn't working out. I mean the person you're actually invested in. The one you keep coaching. The one you keep training. The one you keep giving another shot.

I call this the teacup ride. You coach, you explain, you remind, you accommodate. Round and round you go. They give you a little bit of progress, just enough crumbs to keep you hopeful, and then somehow you're right back where you started, wondering why they can't meet the standard predictably, reliably, and consistently.

In this episode, I break down why “did I coach her enough” is the wrong question to be asking, why infrastructure exists to give you evidence instead of just making your school run smoothly, and the two questions that finally reveal whether you're dealing with a skill gap or a willingness gap. Because you cannot supply willingness in another human being, and pretending you can is costing you a lot more than you realize.

What You'll Learn

Why “did you coach her enough” is the wrong question when someone keeps missing the standard
The difference between a skill gap and a willingness gap, and the two questions that tell you which one you're facing
Why infrastructure exists to give you evidence of reality, not just to make your school run smoothly
What it actually costs you when you keep supplying your own capacity to cover someone else's role
How to build a predictable response to a missed standard instead of reacting based on your mood in the moment
Why “one more chance” often protects the leader's hope more than it protects the outcome

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