Five Reasons Your Teachers Might Be Missing the Mark (and What You Can Do About It)

I had a conversation with a childcare center owner who is very frustrated because his teachers aren’t completing tasks, following procedures, or meeting deadlines, even after he felt like he had made it clear.

Been there more than I care to admit (probably because it’s more times than I can count).

But here’s what I’ve learned: more often than not, what looked like defiance was actually confusion, overwhelm, or miscommunication.

Throughout my years in leadership, I’ve developed some strategies to help my staff follow through more consistently. It’s not flashy, but it’s incredibly effective when applied with intention.

Here are five key questions I started asking myself, and that every leader must ask themselves if they want their team to meet expectations and complete tasks successfully:

1. Do They Know They’re Supposed to Do It?

Before we begin assessing performance, we must start with awareness. Do your staff actually know the task or responsibility is theirs?

It may seem obvious, but assumptions lead to inconsistency. Just because something is common sense to you doesn’t mean it’s common knowledge to them.

Make expectations crystal clear.

Example:
If wiping down playground equipment after it rains is the teacher’s responsibility, but it’s never written down, explained, or modeled, how would they know? This simple but essential task can be overlooked unless expectations are clearly communicated.

2. Do They Know What a "Good Job" Looks Like?

Even if your staff knows what to do, they may not understand what success looks like. And that leads to a lot of guesswork.

Vague expectations, such as “submit lesson plans,” don’t tell teachers what you’re actually looking for. Do they need to align with specific learning goals? Include differentiated strategies? Be formatted a certain way?

Clarify your standards.

Example:
Let’s say lesson plans are due each Wednesday. That’s great. But if teachers don’t know the level of detail you expect—or what criteria you’ll use to give feedback—they’ll likely submit something incomplete or incorrect, creating more back-and-forth than necessary.

3. Do They Know How to Do It?

We often assign tasks assuming the person already has the skill or confidence to complete them. But “figure it out” is not a strategy. Neither is “copy what someone else did.”

Support with clear procedures and training.

Example:
If your team is responsible for sanitizing toys at the end of the day, have you demonstrated the approved cleaning method to them? Which solution to use? How to store sanitized toys afterward? If not, chances are everyone’s doing it differently—or not at all.

4. Do They Know When to Do It?

Timing matters. Even the most capable teacher will drop the ball if they don’t know when something is due or where it falls in the daily or weekly routine.

Establish clear timelines and routines.

Example:
You require lesson plans to be posted by Friday, but they’re due for review on Wednesday. If a teacher submits them on Thursday afternoon, there’s no time for you to give feedback or suggest changes. Making the timeline clear helps everyone stay on track.

5. Are There Barriers Getting in Their Way?

Even when your staff knows the what, how, and when, life still happens. Maybe someone is covering for a coworker, juggling a new classroom dynamic, or has limited planning time due to staffing shortages. This doesn’t mean you lower expectations—but it does mean you lead with empathy.

Identify and troubleshoot barriers. 

Example:
If teachers are struggling to complete documentation, is it because the system is too time-consuming? Is there a better way to collect observation data that fits more naturally into the day? Is the issue time, tech, or training?

Clarity + Support = Results

As leaders, it’s easy to assume we’ve been clear. But if a task keeps slipping through the cracks, chances are we’ve missed one of these five steps.

So before you get frustrated—or worse, start writing someone up—run through the checklist:

• Do they know the task is theirs?

• Do they know what success looks like?

• Do they know how to do it?

• Do they know when it’s due?

• Is something getting in their way?
  

And when in doubt, ask.

Because follow-through doesn’t just come from reminding—it comes from reinforcing, reteaching, and sometimes, reworking the system altogether.

Want a tool to help you clarify expectations and strengthen follow-through on your team?

Grab the [Expectation Execution Quick Guide]—a ready-to-use resource packed with simple, actionable tools to help you build stronger systems, encourage accountability, and support your teachers without burning out your leadership brain.

Because great teams don’t just know what to do—they know how, when, and why to do it, too.