When I ran my business, I believed people didn’t want to be managed. I had worked for micromanagers. I knew how suffocating that felt. So, when I became the owner, I swung hard in the opposite direction.
I didn’t want to control, hover, or dictate every move. I wanted adults to be treated like adults and to feel trusted. So, in my mind, I provided:
Guidance instead of direction.
Context instead of instruction.
Freedom instead of structure.
Sometimes it worked. But too often it created confusion. Looking back on 20 years as an owner — and then four years on the other side as an employee — I see clearly what I missed:
The opposite of micromanagement is not freedom. It’s clarity.
In a 10-person company, losing one person isn’t a minor event — it’s a 10% hit to your entire workforce.
When someone gave two weeks’ notice, I was often surprised. I’d find myself thinking I hadn’t offered them “enough” to stay. But enough of what? Had we ever actually sat down to understand what was important to them?
I was assuming that growth would automatically create opportunity, and loyalty would create longevity. But assumptions are not a business strategy. In a small business, revenue growth doesn’t automatically rewrite the org chart.
After selling my business, I became an employee. That experience clarified something for me very quickly:
Employees don’t crave unlimited freedom; they crave certainty.
They are constantly asking — even if not out loud:
What does success look like here?
How will I know if I’m doing well?
Is there a path forward, or is this just a chapter?
If the owner doesn’t explicitly answer those questions, the employee answers them privately. And private answers nearly always lean toward insecurity.
I am guilty of telling myself that open-ended roles are “empowering” or “modern.” In reality, we, as leaders, often just avoid the difficult work of defining expectations. We call it leadership, but we’re actually avoiding the responsibility of management.
Providing clarity is a form of respect. It says:
Here is what this role is (and isn’t).
Here is how we measure success.
Here is what growth looks like here.
We will revisit this regularly.
If I were running my company again, I would tell every new hire:
Most people build a 2–3 year chapter here. Year one is about learning. After that, we have an honest conversation about what’s next — here or elsewhere.
No silent expectations. No surprise exits. Just clarity. Transparency doesn’t drive people away. Silence and uncertainty do.
This is Part 1 of a short series called Clarity in Small Business.
Next week, we’ll get into the ‘how.’ Until then, ask yourself: If your most reliable employee walked into your office tomorrow and quit, would you be blindsided? If the answer is yes, you have a clarity problem. We’ll fix that in Part 2.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.