There was a stretch early on in my business where my team wasn't hitting the mark. For months I handled it the way I thought a good leader should. I dropped hints. Gentle redirects. Vague feedback in our one-on-ones that I told myself was obvious.
It wasn't landing. And I knew it wasn't. But the clear version of that conversation felt like a big deal, so I kept putting it off because I didn’t want to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
When I finally had it, it took twenty minutes. Twenty minutes, after months of managing around the problem instead of just naming it.
I'd told myself all that hinting was kindness. It wasn't, really. I was being comfortable.
There's a version of "giving someone room" that's just withholding the information they need to do their job well. And it took me longer than I'd like to admit to see that what felt like kindness on my end was leaving someone to fail in slow motion without knowing why.
The moment I started being more direct, everything changed. Not just for them, but for me too. And for the clients we were serving.
Clear feedback isn't cruel. Vague feedback is.
When you tell someone exactly what's not working and exactly what you need instead, you give them something to act on. You treat them like an adult who can handle real information. You stop managing around the problem and start solving it.
I think about this a lot when I'm working with founders who are struggling with a team member. Nine times out of ten, the team member doesn't really know there's a problem. At most they've picked up on some tension, but that's not enough for them to act on.
The switch from vague to clear is uncomfortable. But only for a moment. Then it's just… relief. For everyone.
Your team can handle more honesty than you think. And they deserve it.
Is there feedback you've been sitting on with someone right now?
- Valentina, Mynt Collective Founder
📚 The Learning Lounge
A cozy corner where we share our latest insights from books, podcasts, videos, and articles.
Clear Is Kind. Unclear Is Unkind. (Brené Brown) Brown's research found most of us dodge clarity because we think we're sparing someone's feelings, when we're really sparing our own discomfort. If you've ever softened feedback so much that the person never knew there was a problem, this names exactly what's happening.
The "Ruinous Empathy" trap from Radical Candor. Kim Scott's framework for being direct without being a jerk. The quadrant "Ruinous Empathy" is about caring for someone so much you won't challenge them. It's the trap thoughtful agency founders fall into most, because the instinct to protect people is the same one that leaves them stuck.
The Conflict-Averse Leader's Guide to Giving Difficult Feedback. (Scarlet Spark) If clarity is the what, this is the how. A genuinely practical walkthrough for people who hate confrontation, including the "what / so what" structure that takes the personal sting out of hard feedback. Worth reading before the conversation you've been putting off.
📊 Bookkeeping is now part of how we work.
Bookkeeping is now a role option inside our Ops Retainer. You get clean books, but more importantly, every bookkeeping client also gets me as their Operations Strategist. So the books aren't just getting done in the background somewhere. We're sitting down together and tying what's in them back to the decisions you're making in your business.
Numbers are a language that most creative founders never got taught. We treat it that way, with a visual-first approach that's built for how creative brains take in information.
If you want a rough sense of what it'd run for your business, the estimate tool will get you a range: Ops Retainer Estimate Tool
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🗺️ Ways To Work With Us
A snapshot of ways we support small businesses. Know someone we could help? Share any of the links below.
Ops Audits: An Operational Audit that identifies bottlenecks and delivers a prioritized 90‑day plan with owners, dates, and quick wins.
Ops Retainers: Day-to-day support with the right roles on deck (Bookkeeping, Ops Manager, Executive Assistant, and more). We run the business, manage change, and unblock the team—roles can expand or shift as needs evolve.
Ops Builds: Design and implement right‑sized tools and workflows, document SOPs, train the team, and drive adoption so the system gets used.
💚 Full service ops for creative agencies.
Focus on big ideas, not busywork.