Your Team Isn’t the Problem (It’s You, Babe)
So you finally hired help. No more late nights doing all 👏 the 👏 things 👏 by yourself. You’re building a business with support, like the badass CEO you are.
Except… why does it feel harder?
Deadlines are slipping. Projects come back to you either late or half-done, and you keep thinking, “I should’ve just done it myself.”
Now you’re wondering if you hired the wrong people and trying to figure out what was off on your role description and hiring process that led you here…
Spoiler alert: it’s probably not them. It’s you.
(Deep breath. Stay with me — I say this with love.)
Because here’s the truth: most entrepreneurs hire help, but never actually learn to lead. And then they blame their team when things fall apart. But babe… leadership is a skill. And if you don’t learn it, you’ll keep recreating the same chaos no matter who you hire.
Let’s fix that, yeah? Here’s what’s really going on:
1. You Don’t Know What Role You Actually Hired For
Stop calling your VA an “integrator” and then getting mad when they don’t run your whole damn company. That’s not their job.
Here’s the breakdown:
You = Visionary. Big ideas, mission, firestarter energy. That’s you.
Integrator = Your right-hand operator. The one who takes your ideas, runs it through a reality-check filter, decides if it’s a yes, no, or not yet. If it’s a yes? They map it out, delegate, and keep the train moving.
VA = The doer. They execute tasks. They are not there to architect your empire, they’re there to implement the pieces.
When you blur those lines, everyone loses. So get clear, communicate clearly, and (let’s be adults here) pay people fairly for the responsibilities you’re giving them.
2. Your Culture Is a Reflection of… You
You want a team that’s chill, fun, and gets shit done? Cool. Are you showing up that way?
Or are you giving chaotic, last-minute, “oops I forgot to tell you this crucial detail but why didn’t you read my mind?” energy?
Your team mirrors you. If your vibe is stressed, unclear, and inconsistent, don’t be shocked when that’s what you get back. Culture isn’t some fluffy buzzword. It’s how you be in your business every single day.
3. You’re Communicating in Your Language, Not Theirs
Here’s where you’re probably screwing it up: you give instructions the way you like to receive them, not the way they process them.
Some people need Loom videos. Some need it written down. Some need a screen share where they actually do it while you walk them through. And you? You’re over there firing off a five-second Voxer while driving to Target, wondering why things keep getting missed.
Figure out how your people best learn, and meet them there. It’s not coddling. It’s efficient.
4. You Don’t Even Know Your Own Style (Yet)
Look, you can’t lead others if you don’t know yourself.
Are you a last-minute visionary who drops ideas at midnight and expects a same-day turnaround? Or do you like things mapped out weeks in advance? Do you want constant check-ins, or do you prefer updates at milestones?
There’s no wrong answer. But if you don’t own your style, your team will never know how to win with you. And that’s when resentment brews . . . on both sides.
The Hard Truth (That’ll Set You Free)
Your team isn’t failing you. You’re failing to lead them.
And the second you take radical ownership of that? Everything shifts. Suddenly deadlines get met, projects flow, and you stop micromanaging and start feeling like the damn CEO you set out to be.
So before you go firing people or deciding “nobody can do it as well as I can” — pause. Ask yourself:
👉 Am I clear on their role?
👉 Am I modeling the culture I want?
👉 Am I communicating in a way they actually understand?
👉 Do I even know what I need as a leader?
If you don’t like your answers, that’s your work. And the good news? You can absolutely get better at this.
Because your dream team isn’t waiting for you “out there.” They’re waiting for you to rise the fuck up as their leader.
