If it actually mattered, you'd be tracking it. You'd notice when it slipped. You'd hammer on it. You didn't. So, congratulations, you taught your team it doesn't matter.
I had this conversation with a founder this week. He was telling me his team already shares his values. Small company. Careful hiring. Everyone's aligned. No real need to spell things out.
I asked him, "Does your fiancée know you love her?"
He said he hoped so.
"Do you still tell her?"
All the time.
"Why? You already told her. She knows, yeah?"
The same thing applies to everything you care about in your company. Saying it once and assuming it stuck is one of the laziest moves a CEO can make. And I say that as someone who has been the lazy CEO plenty of times.
Here's the pattern I see constantly:
A founder sits down with me, frustrated. An employee dropped the ball on something important. I ask, "are you checking in with them every week?"
No. I established it was super important. They should just do it.
Dude. When you stopped asking about it, that was the exact moment they learned it wasn't important to you.
If it mattered, you'd ask about it. You'd track it. You'd follow up. When they stopped doing it, you'd notice and challenge them about it.
You didn't do any of that. You taught them it doesn't matter. They focused on other things.
Your team isn't reading your mind; they're reading your behavior. And your behavior said "never mind."
Say it today. Say it again tomorrow. Say it the day after that. If it matters, never stop saying it.
(Massive h/t to Joseph Logan who taught me both the "does your wife know you love her" question and the "CEO is tired of saying it..." framing. Dude is my Yoda.)