In a long-term client engagement a few years ago, I realized that I was spending as much time thinking about what wasn’t being said as what was.
On paper, everything looked straightforward: the organization needed to clarify processes, align on hiring needs, and build more consistency across teams.
But in practice, progress kept stalling. Decisions were revisited. Timelines shifted. Conversations circled back to where they started.
It wasn’t a strategy problem. It was a signal problem.
The leader would ask for more structure — clear agendas, defined timelines, tighter processes. At the same time, she valued flexibility and autonomy, often encouraging people to figure it out.
Individually, those preferences made sense. But together, they created ambiguity.
Everyone who worked with her learned that what she said (“slow down,” “build the process”) didn’t always match what she wanted (“show me progress,” “keep things moving”). And because she preferred consensus and avoided stepping into tension, decisions were often reshaped in real time — sometimes landing right back where they started after significant time had been lost.
No one was doing anything wrong. But no one was naming what was actually happening either.
If your organization feels stuck despite good intentions and capable people, consider:
- Where are you relying on others to “just figure it out” instead of making your expectations explicit?
- Where are decisions being revisited instead of reinforced?
- What patterns are showing up repeatedly, and what might they be telling you?
The most effective leaders don’t eliminate ambiguity entirely. But they reduce the burden on their teams to decode it.
When people spend less time reading between the lines, they can spend more time doing the work that matters.
Try this — Reading between the lines
In situations like the one described above, it’d be ideal to ask that leader to write a Manager Memo or ask about learning styles.
However, that’s not always possible or appropriate (and it wasn’t in this engagement where the leader was essentially my boss).
Another helpful resource are assessments such as Gallup CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. This information can help you understand who people are and how they show up.
Run these assessments every 2-3 years as teams shift, new hires join, roles change, and people evolve.
An organizational health survey isn’t enough to surface this information.
For myself, my top 10 strengths haven’t changed, but the top 5 do shift depending on where I am in my life at that moment.
The sooner you can have real conversations, the better.
Join us — May Talent Roundtable
During SY23-24, TalentED Advisors had the opportunity to work with a national education management organization overseeing a portfolio of in-person and online schools and afterschool programming as they looked to understand the talent journey of their teaching staff. During this case study discussion, we’ll unpack:
- How that talent journey impacted their ability to retain high-quality staff
- The underlying causes for staff departure
- The impacts to the community of school stakeholders including students, staff and families
- Proposed solutions around teacher recruitment, onboarding, development, evaluation, and retention practices
We look forward to providing an open forum for Talent Roundtable participants to share perspectives and insights on the case, critical analysis of the pros and cons of each proposed solution, and the ethical implications and potential risks.
Join us on May 20 from 12 to 1pm.
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Work with us — A case study from Community Solutions
Rapid growth can amplify an organization’s impact — or expose every crack in its operations.
After winning a large grant, Community Solutions was preparing to quadruple the size of their staff and impact. They wanted to ensure consistency in how everyone talked about the work, onboarded new hires, and supported team members because they were beginning to see early signs of organizational health issues. The added complexity was that the organization is 100% remote.
TalentED devised a set of systems and tools to support Community Solutions in this time of growth. After bringing the people operations team into a more centralized role, TalentED created a comprehensive onboarding system with a consistent onboarding schedule, sequenced trainings for new hires and managers, and onboarding plans for certain roles.
With this new system in place, the organization is now set up to grow quickly while maintaining consistency and ensuring that team members feel supported!
If you’re a nonprofit or social impact organization that wants to strengthen your talent systems, please book a free, no-obligation call so we can explore your challenges and see if we’re a good fit to help.
