“You Should Have Known” Culture

Send us Fan MailWhen something goes wrong, the focus often shifts quickly to the individual — their judgment, their awareness, their ability to “read the room.” But what happens when expectations were never made clear in the first place?In this episode, Dr. Theresa Haskins names “you should have known” culture—the unwritten rules and implicit expectations that quietly shift responsibility to individuals while shielding the system itself from scrutiny.Through familiar workplace examples, she explores how this pattern shows up in leadership, education, and everyday interactions — and why neurodivergent people often encounter these breakdowns first and can signal needed change before incidents occur.This episode asks us all to move away from debate and blame and to focus on clarity, accountability, and what helps people succeed, instead of guessing our way through.