He didn’t get it again.
Same task. Same instructions. Third time this week.
You know that moment when you can literally feel irritation climbing your throat? The kind of frustration you try to hide behind a “professional tone,” but it leaks through anyway.
But instead of snapping, I asked, “What part was unclear?”
He looked down, hesitant. Then he said quietly, “I think I understood it... I just didn’t know how to start.”
That stopped me.
All this time, I thought I was giving directions. But what he really needed was guidance.
He wasn’t lazy. He was lost.
And there’s a difference between the two.
Leaders often mistake clarity for understanding, assuming words automatically translate into execution. But people don’t just follow what they’re told, they follow what they grasp.
Don’t presume your team members have the same level of comprehension, the same experience, or the same mastery as you. They don’t, yet. That’s why you’re the senior. That’s why you’re the leader.
Leadership isn’t a test of how well others keep up.
It’s how far you’re willing to slow down so they can catch up.
That afternoon, I stayed a bit longer. We redid the task together. He took notes, asked better questions, and I saw the spark I thought he’d lost.
Maybe the real measure of leadership isn’t how many times you repeat instructions, but how many times you choose to stay patient when you’d rather give up.