Is It Unrealistic to Expect Your Team to Feel the Same About the Business as You Do?

If you built the business, it’s personal.

The values.
The standards.
The risks you took when nobody else could see the vision.

So when someone joins your company, it can feel obvious that they should “get it.”

After all, you ran a proper recruitment process.
You explained the role.
You talked about culture.

Why wouldn’t they feel the same level of ownership and commitment?

Because it’s not their business.

And expecting them to feel what you feel is often where frustration begins.

Passion Isn’t Transferable by Default

As the owner, you carry:

• The financial risk
• The reputational risk
• The long-term vision
• The emotional attachment

Your team carry responsibility but not ownership.

That difference matters.

At around £1m turnover, this tension becomes more visible. You’re no longer working alongside one or two people. You’re leading a team with different motivations, ambitions and risk appetites.

Assuming shared passion without clearly defining expectations creates confusion not culture.

The “Rules of the Game” Often Go Undefined

Many owners talk about values.

Fewer define what those values actually look like in behaviour.

• What does accountability look like here?
• What does “high standards” really mean?
• What happens when someone misses the mark?
• What does good performance feel like day-to-day?

If these aren’t explicit, recruitment becomes a gut-feel exercise.

And gut feel often means:

• Hiring in your own image
• Overvaluing cultural similarity
• Under-testing alignment

Recruitment Energy Is High. Cultural Testing Is Often Low.

Both sides invest time and money in hiring.

But how much of that process is genuinely spent testing:

• How decisions are made
• How conflict is handled
• What pace feels normal
• What autonomy actually looks like

If you’ve defined your values, why wouldn’t you road test them properly?

Research by the recruitment firm Robert Walters found that over 70% of people had left a job because they disliked the company culture. Even more concerning, 67% felt misled about culture during induction.

That isn’t just a hiring problem.

It’s a clarity problem.

The Real Question

It’s not whether your team care.

It’s whether you’ve been clear about:

• What caring looks like in your business
• What ownership means when you’re not the owner
• What standards are non-negotiable

You can’t expect everyone to feel what you feel.

But you can design a culture where expectations are explicit, alignment is tested early, and “fit” isn’t left to instinct.

Culture is no longer accidental -It becomes structural.

And if you’re frustrated with engagement or commitment levels, the starting point isn’t “Why don’t they care like I do?”

It’s: Have I made the rules of the game clear enough for someone else to play well?

Understanding team strengths and individual differences to help drive performance.

Gemma brings a direct, thoughtful style shaped by years of guiding teams and supporting leaders through change.

Clients value her straight talking and her ability to cut through complexity and help people make clear decisions.