Pursuing Clarity

One of the most important roles leaders find themselves in is setting or changing direction for their team. Whatever happened in the past, there is a need to clarify a future that is different or distinct. The operating environment or fundamentals may have shifted. New threats or opportunities may have changed the pathways for progress. And the metrics for success may require modifications.

Leaders may find themselves…

  • Leading a new business venture.
  • Bringing a new product or service offering to market.
  • Setting annual goals.
  • Transforming organizations.
  • Shifting business strategies.
  • Talking about the future of the organization.

In each of these situations the leader’s message needs to be easily understood and include the right level of detail. This ensures that the team is clear and aligned about where they’re going and why. The leader is responsible for reinforcing decisions and behaviors. Otherwise, confusion and misunderstanding will negatively impact productivity, depleting valuable resources and energy.

5 Keys to Ensure Clarity

Cast Vision – It starts with a vision of what you want the FUTURE to look like. Create a picture in your mind of that desired state. The ability to articulate it in a simple and understandable way is the first step in providing clarity. Use words to paint a verbal picture that others can literally “see.” Team members, colleagues, investors, customers, and community partners need to feel the leader’s energy and get onboard as a result of effectively conveying the vision.

Understand Motivations – Leaders must also be self-aware of their own motivations. WHY do you want to accomplish this? Do you have a particular skill set or passion that connects with it? What drives you to focus on this to ensure that you won’t easily be distracted when the going gets tough…(because it will). Then, recognize that everyone on the team has different personal motives and goals. Take time with each key team member to discover their passion and skill set and literally find a story that links them to the vision.

Set Goals –WHAT do you want to accomplish? Translating the vision into goals requires breaking it down into manageable parts. Identify and talk about what should be completed in the next one to three years; and the major steps that require a longer horizon. Longer term goals may be revised as the future challenges and possibilities come into greater focus. Be clear about the desired results but flexible to take advantage of unintended yet wonderfully opportunistic outcomes. Establish expectations for the team. Discuss them in detail. And ensure everyone is aligned on their responsibility to accomplish them.

Develop Plans – HOW will you accomplish your vision? Leaders identify and hire people with specific skill sets. They must give a clear explanation of the vision so that these experts can develop and execute plans and processes. Often, it is a complex, multidimensional, years-long process. As the plans move forward, you may find it necessary to revisit the underlying foundational principles and add further clarity.

Manage Risks – Communicate how will you predict, MANAGE, adapt, and adjust to the many challenges along the way. Unforeseen external and environmental factors will impact the vision, motivation, and goals. There are times when it will be hard to see more than a few steps ahead, or an abundance of obstacles may make success seem almost impossible. Leaders must repeat the vision and again provide examples to ensure clarity. This can ensure a basis for creative approaches to manage and surmount the challenges.

Clarity Begins with You

Clearly communicating the vision, motivation, along with the associated goals, plans and risks to others begins with clearly thinking it through yourself. Leaders must have clarity of thought and purpose. They need the intellectual ability to lay out a logical pathway to the future, and the emotional intelligence to connect with their team.

There is a familiar verse in the Bible (Hab. 2.2) that encourages a leader to write down the vision and make it clear, so that people can easily read it and understand it. That advice holds true today. Write your vision, motivation, goals, plan, and risks so that others can read and learn it.

Copyright 2025 Priscilla Archangel.

Image by fermate from iStock

 

Want more leadership tips read past leadership articles or check out the book LeaderVantage.