I'm in almost the exact same situation -- stepping from mostly IC into a CTO / Tech Lead role at a small startup, trying to create the type of culture that I'd want to work in, etc.
I unfortunately don't have a solution, other than I've noticed the exact same pattern -- most of my reports are awesome and work hard... there are a couple that I wonder if they are legitimately working, and my attempts to establish more transparency into what their day looks like have so far not gone over super well.
I unfortunately don't have a solution, other than I've noticed the exact same pattern -- most of my reports are awesome and work hard... there are a couple that I wonder if they are legitimately working, and my attempts to establish more transparency into what their day looks like have so far not gone over super well.