Vaguebooking My Team… and Wondering Why Nothing Changed

Key Point:

You can’t grow or improve what you won’t clearly name. When leaders are vague, teams are left guessing—and guessing rarely leads to the right results.

Have you ever been scrolling through social media and come across a post like:

“I can’t believe what just happened.”

“Some people have a lot of nerve.”

“This just really frustrates me.”

And that’s it.

No context. No explanation.

You’re left wondering… What happened? What am I supposed to do with this?

That’s called vaguebooking.

It’s when someone draws attention to a situation without giving you enough information to understand how to respond or react.

Leaders Do This Too

As I thought about it, I realized…leaders vaguebook all the time.

It sounds like:

“We need to improve our focus.”

“We need to communicate better.”

“Some things need to change around here.”

The intention is good. But the problem is—your team may not know what to do with that. So they start taking action, however, it may not be the action you actually wanted them to do.

If You’re Guilty of Vaguebooking…

Here are three simple ways to improve.

And yes—they all start with “C.”

1. Call Out the Specific Behavior

Instead of saying:

“We need to improve our communication…”

Try being more specific:

“We need to get more efficient with how we use our communication channels.”

That lets your team know what area you want to look at.

2. Clarify the Desired Outcomes

If the goal is better communication, show them what that actually looks like:

• Use Slack (or your messaging tool) for quick questions

• Use email for client updates

• Use meetings (or a quick call) for more complex challenges

You’re not just giving direction—you’re giving a clear picture of success.

3. Connect to What’s Important

Give them the why.

Remind them:

• When communication improves, people use their time more wisely

• When time is used wisely, frustration goes down

• And when frustration goes down, the whole team benefits

Now the change has meaning.

The Bottom Line

You can’t grow or improve what you won’t clearly name.

A Simple Challenge for Your Week

Pay attention to the moments when you say:

“We need to get better…”

“We need to improve…”

That’s vaguebooking.

Instead, pause—and use the 3 C’s:

• Call out the behavior

• Clarify the outcome

• Connect to what matters

Give your team the clarity they need to grow.

If you want more practical ways to improve focus, communication, and how your team uses their time, you can explore more here:
👉 https://jonesloflin.com/blog