Why Does Your Team Do Whatever They Want When You're Not Looking?

A salon owner named Jessica called me frustrated. Her team was amazing when she was in the salon. The second she left? Chaos.

"I came back from a three-day weekend," Jessica told me. "The salon was a disaster. Stations weren't cleaned. Products left everywhere. The front desk was covered in clutter."

Jessica owns a salon in Connecticut. Six stylists. She's behind the chair four days a week. Tries to take one day off for administrative work.

"What happened when you were gone?" I asked.

"Nobody followed any of the systems we talked about," Jessica said, angry. "It's like they think the rules don't apply when I'm not there."

That's exactly what they thought. Because Jessica had never held them accountable when she was there.

"Do you address it when they don't clean their stations?" I asked.

"Sometimes," Jessica admitted. "But I don't want to seem like I'm micromanaging. I don't want to be that boss who's always watching."

There it is. The fear of micromanaging that stops owners from creating any accountability at all.

"So you let it slide?" I asked.

"Most of the time," Jessica said. "Unless it gets really bad."

That's the problem. "Most of the time" and "really bad" aren't standards. They're feelings. And you can't hold a team accountable to your feelings.

Let me show you what actually creates accountability.

What Actually Happens When You Avoid Accountability?

Jessica thought she was being a good boss by not micromanaging. She was actually creating chaos.

I had another salon owner, Ryan, with the same problem. His team showed up late constantly.

"How late?" I asked Ryan.

"Five minutes. Ten minutes. Sometimes fifteen," Ryan said.

"What do you do about it?" I asked.

"Nothing," Ryan admitted. "I mean, what can I do? It's only a few minutes."

Five minutes became ten. Ten became fifteen. Fifteen became "I'll be there when I get there."

"Your first client was waiting at 9:15 for her 9:00 appointment because your stylist showed up at 9:10," I pointed out to Ryan.

"I know," Ryan said, embarrassed. "But I don't want to be the boss who's watching the clock."

"You're already watching the clock," I said. "You're just not doing anything about it."

A third salon owner, Monica, had a different accountability problem. Her team ignored retail recommendations completely.

"Why don't they recommend retail?" I asked Monica.

"I've told them it's important," Monica said. "I've trained them on the products. But they just don't do it."

"What happens when they don't do it?" I asked.

"Nothing," Monica admitted.

There it is. When nothing happens, the behavior continues. Jessica's team didn't clean when she was gone because nothing happened when they didn't clean. Ryan's team showed up late because nothing happened when they were late. Monica's team ignored retail because nothing happened when they didn't recommend.

Accountability isn't micromanaging. It's consequences.

What Changed When Jessica Fixed This?

Jessica and I worked together for three months. We didn't turn her into a micromanager. We created actual standards.

First, we defined what "clean station" meant. Before, it was subjective. Jessica thought clean meant one thing. Her stylists thought it meant something else.

We created a checklist. End-of-day station standard:

• Floor swept
• Surfaces wiped down
• Tools sanitized and stored
• Chair lowered
• Products returned to their spots

"This feels controlling," Jessica said. "Like I don't trust them."

"Do you trust them to clean their stations?" I asked.

"Clearly not," Jessica admitted. "Since they don't do it."

Now it wasn't about trust. It was about a standard. Either the station met the standard or it didn't.

Second, we created consequences. Not punishments. Consequences.

If a station wasn't clean at closing, that stylist opened the next morning and had to clean it before their first client.

"Won't that make them mad?" Jessica worried.

"Maybe," I said. "But it will also make them clean their stations."

The first week, three stylists left messy stations. All three had to come in early and clean them. Jessica didn't yell. Didn't lecture. Just enforced the consequence.

"I felt terrible making them come in early," Jessica told me.

"Did they leave messy stations the second week?" I asked.

"No," Jessica said. "Everyone cleaned their stations."

That's accountability. Clear standard. Clear consequence. Consistent enforcement.

Third, we did the same thing with every system. Rebooking. Retail. Schedule adherence. Product usage. Everything got a clear standard and a clear consequence.

Six months later, Jessica took a week-long vacation. First time in three years.

"I was terrified," Jessica told me when she got back. "I kept thinking about what the salon would look like."

"What did it look like?" I asked.

"Perfect," Jessica said. "Every station was clean. Everyone followed the systems. It's like I didn't even leave."

That's what accountability creates. A team that operates the same whether you're there or not.

What About the Conversations You're Avoiding?

Ryan's lateness problem required difficult conversations. He'd been avoiding them for two years.

"I need to talk to Sarah about being late," Ryan told me. "But I don't know what to say."

"Use a script," I said. "Takes the emotion out of it."

I gave Ryan this framework:

1. State the standard: "Our salon opens at 9:00. That means stylists need to be ready for clients at 9:00, not walking in the door at 9:00."

2. State the gap: "You've been 10-15 minutes late three times this week. That's affected client experience."

3. Ask for commitment: "Can you commit to being here and ready by 9:00 going forward?"

Ryan used it. Sarah got defensive at first.

"Traffic was bad," Sarah said.

"Then you need to leave earlier," Ryan said, sticking to the script. "Can you commit to being here at 9:00?"

Sarah tried to argue. Ryan didn't engage. Just repeated: "Can you commit to being here at 9:00?"

Finally, Sarah agreed. "Yes, I can be here at 9:00."

The next week, Sarah was late once. Ryan had the same conversation again. Added a consequence.

"If you're late again this month, you'll be moved to afternoon shifts only. We need reliable morning coverage."

Sarah was never late again.

"I can't believe that worked," Ryan told me. "I've been dealing with this for two years. One conversation and a consequence fixed it."

Because Sarah knew Ryan was serious. Not angry. Not emotional. Just serious about the standard.

Monica had to have a different conversation. About retail.

"I need you to recommend retail to every client," Monica told her team. "Here's the new standard: every client gets a product recommendation. We're tracking it."

"What if the client says no?" one stylist asked.

"That's fine," Monica said. "But you need to make the recommendation. We're measuring recommendations, not purchases."

Monica started tracking. Which stylists were recommending. Which weren't.

The first month, two stylists made zero recommendations. Monica had a conversation with both.

"I see you didn't make any retail recommendations this month," Monica said. "What's going on?"

One stylist admitted she felt uncomfortable. Monica offered training.

The other stylist said she "forgot." Monica was direct.

"This is part of your job," Monica said. "Next month, I need to see recommendations. If I don't, we'll need to discuss whether this role is the right fit."

That stylist made 45 recommendations the next month.

"I thought I was being mean," Monica told me. "But she just needed to know I was serious."

What Systems Actually Create Accountability?

Jessica's checklist. Ryan's script. Monica's tracking. All systems.

Accountability without systems is just nagging. With systems, it's objective.

Another salon owner I worked with, David, had a rebooking problem. His salon's rebooking rate was 45%. Industry standard is 60-70%.

"How do your stylists know what the standard is?" I asked David.

"I tell them to rebook everyone," David said.

"That's not a standard," I said. "That's a suggestion."

We created an actual standard. Each stylist's rebooking rate visible on a dashboard. Updated weekly. Color-coded.

Green: 60% or above (meeting standard) Yellow: 50-59% (below standard, needs improvement) Red: Below 50% (action required)

"This feels like I'm shaming people," David worried.

"You're not shaming them," I said. "You're showing them the reality of their performance."

The first week, three stylists were red. Two were yellow. One was green.

David had conversations with the red stylists. "You're at 42%. The standard is 60%. Let's create a plan to close that gap."

He didn't lecture about why rebooking matters. Just focused on the gap between current performance and the standard.

Within three months, all stylists were green. The salon's overall rebooking rate hit 68%.

"I thought I needed to motivate them," David told me. "I actually just needed to show them where they stood and hold them to a standard."

What If They Push Back?

Jessica's team pushed back initially. So did Ryan's. And Monica's. And David's.

"This feels like you don't trust us," one of Jessica's stylists said when she introduced the cleaning checklist.

"It's not about trust," Jessica said. "It's about having a clear standard so everyone knows what success looks like."

Some stylists adapted immediately. Others grumbled but complied. One stylist quit.

"She said the salon was becoming too corporate," Jessica told me, upset.

"She quit because you started holding her accountable," I said. "Would you rather keep her and have a messy salon when you're gone?"

Jessica thought about it. "No. I want a team that follows systems."

"Then losing her was addition by subtraction," I said.

Ryan had a stylist threaten to quit over the lateness policy.

"If you're going to be that strict about five minutes, maybe I should work somewhere else," the stylist said.

"That's your choice," Ryan said. "But if you stay, you need to be here at 9:00."

The stylist stayed. And started being on time.

"Calling their bluff was terrifying," Ryan told me. "But it worked."

Monica had a stylist argue that retail recommendations felt "salesy."

"This is part of professional service," Monica said. "If you're not comfortable with it, I can help you get comfortable. But it's not optional."

The stylist got comfortable. Her retail sales went up. Her commissions went up. She stopped complaining.

"Most resistance is just testing boundaries," I told all three owners. "Hold the line and it goes away."

What Actually Matters?

After working with dozens of salon owners on accountability, here's what I've learned:

Fear of micromanaging prevents any accountability at all. Jessica avoided holding team accountable because didn't want to seem controlling. Result: chaos when she left. Ryan avoided addressing lateness for 2 years because didn't want to "watch clock." Monica avoided retail accountability because didn't want to seem pushy. All created worse problems than micromanaging would have.

Standards must be specific and measurable. Jessica's "keep station clean" was subjective = unenforceable. Checklist made it objective. David's "rebook everyone" was vague = ignored. 60% rebooking rate was specific = achievable. Ryan's "be on time" meant different things to different people. "Ready for clients at 9:00" was clear.

Consequences make standards real. Jessica's team cleaned stations only after consequence (come in early and clean). Ryan's Sarah stopped being late only after consequence (afternoon shifts only). Monica's stylist made recommendations only after consequence (discuss fit for role). Without consequences, standards are suggestions.

Difficult conversations get easier with scripts. Ryan avoided Sarah lateness talk for 2 years. Script made it simple: state standard, state gap, ask commitment. Monica's retail conversation became objective not emotional. David's rebooking talks focused on performance gap not motivation speeches.

Systems create objective accountability. Jessica's checklist, David's dashboard, Monica's tracking. All removed emotion and subjectivity. Either standard met or not met. No debate.

Team pushback tests your commitment. Jessica lost 1 stylist (quit over "corporate" standards). Ryan's stylist threatened quit over lateness policy. Monica's stylist argued retail felt "salesy." All owners held the line. All teams adapted.

Jessica took week vacation, salon perfect without her. First time in 3 years. Team operates same whether she's there or not.

Ryan's lateness problem solved after 2 years of avoidance. One conversation + consequence = on-time team.

Monica's retail recommendations went from zero to consistent. Stylist who "forgot" made 45 recommendations after clear consequence.

David's rebooking rate 45% → 68% in 3 months. Dashboard made performance visible, conversations focused on gaps.

All of them said the same thing: "I thought accountability meant micromanaging. Actually means clear standards and consistent consequences."

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