The painters had just finished painting the office and the employee was all set to move back in. As he walked in the pin size nail holes stuck out as if they were the size of a dinner plate. The painters had done a great job transforming the office with a fresh color but the employee was not satisfied. A quick conversation with the painters revealed they had assumed the nail holes would be filled with nails holding up pictures that would return to their original locations.

A conversation with the employee revealed he was hoping to make a fresh start by hanging the painting in a new location.

So who was at fault?

The fault…no one made CLEAR the expectations.

Failing to fill in a few nail holes is not a big deal but it provides us with a great example of how we must be CLEAR in our communication.

No matter the job to be done the person assigned will never complete it to the leader’s expectations if the leader does not offer CLEAR communication, no matter how small the task.