“I thought I told them, yet they haven't taken action.”
“It doesn't move forward unless I check in every single time.”
From a manager’s perspective, this is a very frustrating situation. Especially when busy, it’s tempting to just brush it off as a “lack of motivation” or “lack of ability.”
However, it is better to stop and pause here.
The cause of a subordinate’s inaction does not necessarily lie with the person themselves. Frequently, the instructions given simply lack the information necessary to make a judgment.
The first thing to fix is not the person; it is how you give instructions. Only when things still aren't syncing up should you look at the individual's decision-making tendencies and behavioral style. If you reverse this order, your analysis becomes nothing more than a preconceived notion.
There are actually four types of “inaction”
Even if they look the same, the underlying issues are different.