A good leader knows the difference between someone who can’t do the task and someone who won’t.

Those two look identical from the outside and need opposite responses. A person who cannot do the task needs showing, practice, or a different job. A person who will not do it needs a straight conversation. Treat the first like the second and you crush somebody who was trying; treat the second like the first and you spend weeks teaching someone who already knows how.

When work is not getting done, ask before you decide which one it is. “Walk me through where you get stuck” usually settles it in a minute. Then offer help or state a plain expectation, whichever the answer called for.