Confusion and Clarity

A senior project lead I am coaching at the moment is battling with lots of do overs. Meetings are held. Directions and accountabilities decided. Work begins. And then the goal posts move. It’s frustrating and demotivating for the people involved. It’s racking up a monumental cost in salaries and wanted time. Real money and real people are getting less far than they could, and there’s a sense of hopelessness creeping in. Maybe you’ve had similar conversations or seen a similar pattern. I’ve seen it fairly regularly.

Gallup Workplace Research found "Only about half of employees strongly agree they know what is expected of them at work."

Potentially half of the people you lead are not completely clear about what success looks like. Lack of results is not a skill or motivation problem. It’s a clarity problem. Add the stress caused by lack of clarity and you can end up with a big problem pretty quickly.

A big part of your role as a leader is to add clarity. You don’t need all the answers. You don't even need the finish line fully defined. But direction and priorities should be crystal clear. Each interaction should add to clarity.

As leadership researcher Marcus Buckingham says, "Clarity is the antidote to anxiety.”

People don't wake up wondering how to make their work more difficult. They do wake up wondering what’s important. Creating that clarity is part of leadership.

How could you be more clear today?