People ask for clarity based on different motives and often they are looking to the leader to tell them what to do. A leader practicing Intent-Based Leadership® will provide information and not instruction.
Beautiful days like this, I’m sorry to say, are quite rare in Scotland, so we’re making the most of it out on our daily lockdown walk. Now, we can see for miles and miles here. And every team wants clarity. But from a leader’s perspective, sometimes people ask for clarity and they mean different things.
So, somebody might ask for clarity because they need more facts. Somebody might ask for clarity because they want you to tell them what to do. And some people ask for clarity because they feel we needed to have a detailed plan before we can move forward.
So the job of a leader is to provide information, but not instructions. To provide the information that they’ve got and to share that, but then to work with the team to understand what do they see what clarity can they bring in.
So my nudge to you this week, is to resist the urge to provide solutions. Resist the urge to tell people what to do. But instead, set the goal. Set the direction of travel and help people to define the journey that they can take to get there.
I’m Peter Russian. And this is your leadership nudge, live from Scotland.
