Ep 192 - Stop Moving the Goalposts: How great leaders communicate for real support

Are you unintentionally moving the goalposts on your team?
Many leaders are visionary — full of ideas, strategy, and momentum. But without clear communication, even the strongest vision can create confusion, disengagement, and burnout.

In this episode of Get Jasched, Jess Jasch explores one of the most overlooked leadership skills: clearly communicating what you need so your team can actually support you.

You’ll learn:

• Why constantly shifting expectations erodes trust and motivation
• How to guide your team without micromanaging
• The leadership balance between direction and autonomy
• How clarity reduces workplace stress and increases performance
• Why business is more personal than we’ve been taught — and why that matters

Jess also connects leadership communication to our personal lives, reminding us that support only becomes possible when we’re willing to express what we need.
Because whether you're leading a company, a team, or simply your own life — clarity is what turns vision into reality.

🎧 Tune in to learn how stronger communication creates stronger ecosystems of support.

#LeadershipCommunication #BusinessLeadership #TeamPerformance #SelfLeadership #WorkplaceWellbeing #GetJasched

Transcript

Hey, everyone.Welcome to another episode of Get Jasched.I am your host, Jess Jasch.And today, I wanna talk about goal posts and receiving support, but how do we actually communicate in order to get that support?So there, there are several ways that we receive support.We receive support personally only by letting our people know that we need the support in some way.And there might be times where you inadvertently let your people know, you know, like they can guess.They can read the room or they can see that you're just so stressed that they step in, right?That's all beautiful and it's so beautiful to have that kind of community around you, but when we set out to intentionally receive support is when we can set up the best ecosystem for ourselves in order to achieve that.And when we're doing that intentionally, most of the time, that only really comes from us actually letting our people know what it is that we need.Or if we're not sure what we need, letting our people know what it is that we are going through or where it is that we're trying to get to.So that works in all ways, but particularly on a personal level.And in a workplace, especially for leaders, which is where a lot of this conversation's going to be, or between those 2 things, for leaders, I need you to consider that you as a visionary probably have so many exciting things that you are cooking up.So many exciting things that you're cooking up.And for the people in your team, what that can look like is constantly moving goal posts.Constantly moving goal posts or changing goal posts, like the type of goal it is entirely.And while that can come from a very, uh, beautiful place, let's say, it can be, it can be lovely, it can be beautiful, whatever it is, but while that can come from a very, um, you know, non-malicious or innocent or visionary place, as a leader, part of your job is still to lead and direct your team down the pathwaytowards the goal post.And almost most importantly as well, letting them actually achieve the goal or get really close unless you've learnt and need to adjust.And then that becomes part of the team project too.And what I see with leaders, 'cause so many people are brilliant in their own ways, right?And leaders are leaders usually because they have a vision or several visions.And when they are in that visionary space, which is so important for a leader to be in any way, when they're in their visionary space, what can happen is they're like, "Oh, this is where we're going to," and then there's something else that comes up.They're like, "Oh, and also this.Then, oh my gosh, this is everything we could do, or this is what I really, really want."And it might be focused, like this is not the conversation of are you following like the, the bright shiny object kind of thing, or are you actually focusing?This isn't necessarily that part of the conversation.That's definitely probably gonna come into it at some point for you.But for this, it's reallylet's simplify it and, and imagine that that is exactly where you need it to be.That is exactly where you need it to be, and the vision is great and it works, right?But this is where it comes into like getting support.You need to let your people know what it is you need them to do or what it is you need, what the path is, in order for them to help you achieve that vision.And what I see with many leaders is because they have the visioning so much and they are so in that land that sometimes when it comes to conveying that vision and conveying even the goal posts that say, yes, we've achieved that, it causes confusion.And when it causes confusion, it causes your team to not understand how to actually reach the goal post.It can cause frustration in your team if it feels like the goal posts are continually changing or evolving or moving.And that can kind of, you know, lead into burnout if they feel like they're just spinning their wheels, they're just on the treadmill but not actually getting anywhere.So your job and what we're talking about is your job as a leader is to be really, really clear with what the goal posts are, and this is your work to do.Be really clear what the goal posts are and try not to move them unnecessarily.Yes, sometimes they do need to move based on new information that comes to light or things that you learn or whatever it is, right?Again, that becomes a team effort, but your job is to really be clear.in what the goal posts are and be comfortable, learn to be comfortable enough or be comfortable enough with the discomfort of it in not having to kind of keep touching the goal posts and actually letting, u- not even sitting back, but actually letting your team have a chance to achieve them.Your job is elsewhere at that point.It's checking in, it's the overarching, but your job is to not just arbitrarily move the goal posts because you found something even shinier or because you've got this other idea.You can have multiple goal posts that aren't spread out widely, right?They are spread out in some form of, like, one has to come first then the other, then the other, like milestones.You can have multiple of them if there is a bigger vision and your job is to kind of work out the different stages and seasons of the vision, but you need to learn to be comfortable with letting, with guiding, we're gonna get to that, but with letting your team achieve the goal post before you rip it out because you're done with it.You're on, your mind's onto the next thing.You need to let your team achieve the goal posts.You need to let them get there.And then you can move on.You don't even need to do the effort of ripping them out, right?Like, you get to then go, "All right, now here's the next goal post."You need to be comfortable enough with letting your team achieve that because that's the only way we can actually do it.That's what keeps it clear for your team to understand, "This is what we're aiming for," rather than feeling like they're putting in all of this effort and work and energy.Yes, even if they're paid to do it, it's still effort and work and energy, right?And none of us like the feeling of any of our work feeling like it was wasted just because the, the goal became arbitrary or disappeared entirely, right?So, you need to let them have that achievement, but then the second part of that is guiding them to that achievement.And here's, here's where it becomes tricky because leaders either swing from the micromanagement, trying to be caught up in every single micro-detail, which isn't really gonna work.Like, it's not really how it's gonna work for you.Or they step back too much and go, "Well, they just need to be able to do their jobs."Yes, that is why you hire people, but you need to find somewhere in between.You're not micromanaging, you're not trying to, like, 0 like, look over someone's shoulder while they're doing their job.If you've hired people, you've hired them to do the job that they are hired to do that they probably do well, possibly, probably even do better than you, just realistically speaking.That's okay.But you also need to give them the pathway, give them the direction and give them almost the expectation of what you require them to, to do or to be and be on board with what that vision is.And by doing that, when you introduce this whole new strategic plan and vision to a team, right?If you're just introducing the strategic plan and vision, of course you're gonna have mixed results in the room potentially because their mind is already going to be at the, "Well, how do we do this?"So they're gonna find it hard to stay present and to stay and to be there in the room with you celebrating this new strategic plan and vision because they're already gonna be like, "All right, well, uh, now I'm, I may be on board but I'm just trying to figure out actually how that's gonna work in reality."Which can look like disengagement, which can look like unenthusiasm- like, l- lack of enthusiasm.It can look like they're not on board.And sometimes, they won't necessarily be on board because they have all of these lingering questions.Your job as part of that is to almost, it's like setting expectations, right?It's setting expectations.It's going, "What I need from you isI expect this, that, the other," or, "I need you to just be on board with this, and here is your pathway."Not- not just, "I need you to just be on board with this.Deal with it."Mm-mm.Not that.Not just that.That isThat's almost putting the leadership and visionary onus on them when they may naturally be good at that, but it's fundamentally, respectfully, not their role.It's a bonus if you have it, but your role is to explain the pathway to them.Go, "Yes, I expect you to dive into this with me, sure, and here's how we're gonna do it.Then, we're gonna brainstorm for, like, the minutiae or your details of how you think based on your expertise, but here's the pathway that I as the leader, as the visionary, have set up for you.And then discuss," right?And then discuss.Not"This is it, and I don't wanna hear if you have a better idea."It's a, "This is the pathway that I want you to take.This is the pathway of how I see us getting there."And the pathway isn't, again, the pathway isn't the minutiae of their own job role detail.The pathway is, "These are the milestones, I think," or better yet, "These are the goalposts along the way."Normalize having multiple goalposts that are concurrent to each other, that areConcurrent might not be the right word.Uh, that are s- that follow on from each other, right?That- that go one, and the next is here, and the next is here.Not, we're looking at a football field and there's goalposts with- ways across, so you can only really shoot for one, but if you, if you only shoot for one, you miss all of the others, and that means you failed, but it'sThat's a trick.It's a trap, right?Because they can only shoot for one.So you're meant to set up the pathway of goalposts one after the other, after the other.That pathway doesn't need to be straight.We all know that pathways meander.Does not need to be straight.But they need toYou need to set out the vision in that way.That is what helps your team get on board.It's what helps reduce confusion in what is expected of them, and it also means you're not just going, "This is where we want to get to, let's say, in 3 to 5 years time.This is the goal we want to get to," but then not actually giving them steps along the way of how you think that that might work to get there.That doesn't work.It's like, "Okay, cool.Then what do we fucking do?"And then not, you're not giving them direction, and you need to direct them.Trust them to do their jobs well, but direct them.And this plays into support because it is almost, almost saying the exact same thing.You need to let your people know what you need or what goalposts you're up against or where you want to get to in order for them to help you.So this works on a personal level, on a, "Hey, I actually really need community, you know, support," and it works on a business leadership level because you get to go, "Hey, here's the vision we're working towards together.Here are the goalposts I think we do.W- let's walk this together."You're directing them down a path.And this is a obviously, obviously a very simplified version of all of this.It's a very simplified version of how we, how we approach this because each business is different, each vision is different, each person is different, each person's support needs are different.Uh, and that probably ties into the support needs in the workplace that, that link the personal support as well as the workplace support, you know, beyond the job for someone to be able to do their job well.We are talking about adaptive needs in the workplace.We're talking about things that help people feel more supported so they can, they can thrive in their role and enjoy their role at the same time.That needs to be an important part of your priority as a leader, as a business owner.But you see how it's all connected?The fundamental basis of it, and this is going to serve you in all areas, the fundamental basis of it is, I cannot expect my people to support me if I don't communicate, A, that I need support, or what is going on.If I don't communicate what's going on a little more clearly, to the best of my ability.None of us are perfect.None of us are gonna communicate perfectly all the time, or ever technically, you know.So this is really just going, all right, am I communicating, am I sharing to the best of my ability what it is that I need?It's the fundamental principle of this.By sharing to the best of my ability what it is I need so that my community, my team, my people, whatever context, can show up and help support me in that need.Seems simple, right?I think sometimes everything is so complicated, everything feels so compl- like, you know, there are so many complications to running a business, or even interpersonal relationships, that we feel like everything needs to be, must then be complicated in order to achieve, and, but but, and sometimes the solution or the fundamental principle at the very least, is simple.And while there are, you know, there's a lot to say about normalizing, you know, if we, if we look at support needs, and as businesses in particular, normalizing having those questions or opportunities to share in place so that it just becomes a normal part of the conversation, you know, just like dietary requirements.It's like, okay, what do you need?What's your adaptive needs?What's your support needs?What, what, you know?Normalize, there is an element of normalizing those conversations so that someone doesn't need to go to the effort of saying, "Hey, actually this is what I need."But this is also how we learn.We do better one layer at a time.Sometimes we'll be able to do better 6 layers at a time, and we'll feel amazing and like, wow, what progress.And I'm all, I'm talking about in every way now, in legislative, political, every way.Sometimes it'll feel like we're doing 6 layers at a time, and like, yeah, look at us.We're doing it.And then sometimes it'll feel really hard to do just one layer.And, and, and, and that is all part of progress.So yes, there's a normalizing, especially when it comes to support needs, and then based on the same fundamental principle, as a leader when you're talking about vision and directing your team there, you need to direct them there.You need to give them the pathway, the direction, say, "This is what I need from you," while being in relationship and reciprocity and saying, "What do you, what is it you need from me in order to do this, in order to achieve this?"Oh god, we've spent so much time being told in business in particular, in the professional world, the quote unquote professional world, thatbusiness isn't personal, thatwellbeing doesn't suit business.But, like, shit we know.The amount of things that cross over and, and are based on the same fundamental principles that make your life feel better and more supported and more full of wellbeing just as much as making your business and business vision and business strategy work better, and more fundamentally supported towards its goals, which means more fundamentally, opportunities for success.We, they are the same.They're different and the same.They're based on the same principles andI don't know, I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately, and I don't think I'm saying it into the void.We, when we stop pretending that business isn't personal, when it connects personally, right?There is a business world and a personal life, absolutely, but it connects personally.When we start to accept that, then we can embrace it, then we can grow with it and thrive from it, and, and feel better about it, and feel better about what we're doing, and feel more satisfied with what we're doing, and feel like we're actually reaching those goals.Because if you're in business, generally that is actually a big part of your yitty-it.Generally, you know?We have different seasons, but generally we want to reach the goals we're setting out to.So, start embracing the fact that business is personal, and, and personal principles are fundamental to some business principles as well.And just be really, really clear with what it is that you need, what it is that you want, what it is that you need from your community, whoever that community is.Personally, your team members, your co-directors, your co-business owners, whoever that is as well.When you're talking about strategy, when you're talking about what the goals are, the vision, be really, really clear with what it is that you need, and that helps to direct people along the pathway that you as the leader have figured out.And then you'll figure it all out together along the way, but you need to direct them down a pathway in order to get them on, on board, in order to help them achieve those goals that you are setting often, you are setting as well.And hopefully then in relation to their own goals, 'cause the reciprocity, the reciprocity, right?The reciprocity of, okay, well personally, like your team member might be like, "I want to get to this stage in my career by this year or in the next X, Y, Z years."Great.Now you can help them achieve their goals aligned with h- generally or hopefully aligned with that pathway and those goal posts and go, "Cool.Like, this is how we can help you get there too."We are in such relationship with each other, we're in such relationship with our business, we're in such relationship with each other that we forget that sometimes.Or if we f- if we haven't forgotten it, 'cause I'm likeGranted I have a lot more conversation these days with, with business owners who do get that, but it's really just the intentionality and the purposefulness of, "This is what we are doing."So, hopefully that's helpful.Hopefully that helps you in some way.If you're not a business owner or a leader or that's just not relevant to you at this point, that's okay, how can it be helpful in your own life?Maybe you need to communicate more with your people and go, and ch- and share more about what you're actually going through so that your people can come in and go, "Oh, cool.What if we do this for you?"Or, "What if, what if we catch up and"You know, whatever it is.It seems so simple.The execution can feel uncomfortable or it can require more detail, but the fundamental principle is simple.So, take that with you.hope it serves you.Let it serve you.Play with it, especially as a business owner or leader.Uh, if you are interested in support with playing with that, that is actually exactly what I help clients do in a variety of formats, so please reach out to me if you're interested in having a conversation about the format that might work for you.And until next week, enjoy.