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Hey Unfiltered Folks,
Leadership Challenge - "HOW DO I GET MY TEAM TO CARE AS MUCH AS I DO?"
Answer: You don't. Stop trying.
They'll never care as much as you. You're the owner. They're employees.
That's not bad. That's reality.
Instead of expecting them to care like you, build systems so the company runs even when they're just doing their jobs.
Create incentives so they care about their part. That's leadership. Expecting passion is setting yourself up for disappointment.
Question to Consider: What do you actually want from them?
Why: Expecting employee passion is setting yourself up for disappointment.
Here's what's happening: you care deeply. The company is your life. You think about it constantly. You expect your team to match that. They don't. They can't.
They have their own lives. Their own dreams. This is just a job.
You resent them for it. You call them "not committed." But they're doing their jobs. They're just not obsessed like you.
The cost? You burn through good people looking for the impossible. You label solid performers as "disengaged" because they don't work weekends.
Morale tanks because your team feels like they're never enough.
Your best people leave. The ones who stay learn to fake passion. Now you have a team of performers instead of workers.
You created this by expecting employees to have owner energy. That's fantasy.
Employees care about paychecks and weekends.
Owners care about legacy.
Those aren't the same. Expecting passion is unrealistic. Expecting solid work and baseline engagement is not. Don't confuse the two.
Action: Accept reality today.
Employees won't care like owners.
Build systems that work even when people are just doing their jobs.
Create incentives that align their interests with company success. Measure outcomes, not passion.
Let go of the fantasy that they'll love it like you do. If you can't, you'll stay frustrated forever.
Stay Unfiltered,
— Andy
P.S. Expecting passion is unrealistic. Expecting solid work and baseline engagement is not. Don't confuse the two.
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