You said “do the thing.” Your team did the wrong thing. Here’s how to fix that.

You know that moment when someone says, “Well, I thought you knew,” and your brain short-circuits because you know that you can’t read minds?  

FULL DISCLOSURE: TVA PTBO is what it is today because of our ability to anticipate what our clients need. It’s our gift.

We DO read between the lines. 

We spot the gap before it’s a disaster. 

We make magic happen without being told every step.

This isn’t a normal skill. 

It’s a superpower (that not everyone has).

But relying on that for every single task? Not sustainable.

Behind the scenes we have processes, instructions and automations because you can’t run a business on the hope that everyone’s a mind-reader, for every single task. 

In small teams, it happens all the time. 

Everyone’s wearing six hats, juggling twenty things and hoping that someone else magically understands what they meant.

Would we be running a business if we could read minds? Of course not. 

And if we learned anything from Mel Gibson in “What Women Want” … it’s probably a good thing we can’t!

Telepathy still isn’t a skill, and even your most on-the-ball team member can only do so much with instructions they didn’t actually get. 

Good communication doesn’t slow things down, it speeds everything up.

Here’s 5 Tips to make sure you’re not falling into the mind-reading trap

1. Use the “Would I get this next week?” test

When you give instructions, ask yourself if what you wrote would make sense to you next week. Is there enough context to pick back up easily and make it happen?

No? Then fix it. Add all the details that you would need if you went to do the task at a later date: the deadline, the why and the link to the doc.

Yes? Make sure you’re not lying to yourself. We both know you probably have a notebook full of scribbles and not a clue what any of them mean.

2. Write it down

If it only exists in your brain, in a 17-message Slack thread or happened on a quick phone call, it doesn’t exist.

If it’s not written down somewhere shared, it might as well not exist.

Pick a tool (ClickUp, Google Docs, Monday.com, Google Sheet, Trello… it doesn’t matter) and keep your instructions there.

At TVA PTBO we use ClickUP for one time task instructions and Google Docs for repetitive SOPS (standard operating proceedures). If a one time task may become a repetitive task, an SOP is created. 

Not only does this give the team clear instructions, it means you don’t have to give the same instructions over and over because your team knows where to find them.

3. Give all the details, every time

Answer the questions they’re going to ask before they even need to ask, every single time.

• Outcome of the task

• When it’s due

• How long to spend on it

• What platform to use to do it (if that’s important)

• What to do when it’s done

• Any roadblocks or issues you think may pop up so they’re aware

You don’t have to micromanage and tell your team exactly HOW to do the task, but providing these parameters every time helps them get started. 

**NOTE: YES, this is hard to do. YES, it can feel painful when you first start but I promise you it WILL make things easier long term!

4. Make questions normal

If people are scared to ask for clarity, that’s your problem.

Make it normal to say, “Can you walk me through that one more time?” or “What do you mean by done-done?” 

Confused silence leads to mess. Curiosity leads to actual progress.

5. Give outcomes, not just tasks

Don’t say “make a spreadsheet.” Say “We need to compare X and Y so we can decide Z, make a spreadsheet…”

The more context you give, the better the result.

It gives the task a purpose and helps people make better judgment calls along the way because they understand the end goal.

No one wants to redo work just because they guessed wrong.

Chaos doesn’t come from people messing up, it comes from people guessing

Even your most capable team member can’t act on what they don’t know. 

Clear, simple communication keeps things moving forward and keeps those “Wait, what?” moments to a minimum. 

Clear communication doesn’t mean you don’t trust your team.

It means you’re not making success dependent on people guessing right.

BONUS TIP

If you find yourself constantly saying these phrases re-read the 1st 5 points to see if you’re missing a step (you might be the problem, not them)

• I already told you this

• It’s self-explanatory

• You should know this by now

• It’s the same as last time

• No rush (but then you’re annoyed it’s not done when you wanted it)

• ASAP (without providing what that means)

• You know what I mean

• I didn’t think I had to explain that

• It should be fine

Say what you mean.

Say what you need.

Then go do something else, because your team’s got it (now that they actually know what “the thing” is).