Add Clarity to Challenge

By Art Petty

The “Just One Thing” series is predicated on the assumption that change takes place one step at a time. Like throwing a pebble into a pond, your one small action can have a far-reaching ripple effect at work for you, your firm and of course, in your personal life.

Too many strategies and corporate plans (and even our personal improvement plans) outline lofty challenges in heady words, but they fail to provide the clarity necessary for us and for our teams to move forward in an integrated fashion.

These statements …a mission, a vision, a strategy sound beautiful on the surface, but like a beautifully wrapped empty box, once the surface layer is peeled back and we peer inside, there’s nothing there for us to seize. And then we add our own interpretation.

Why are we doing this project?

What is this committee here for?

Why does this team exist?

What does adopting this strategy mean for me, my work and for the work of my team members?

We all process and interpret statements, words and ideas in a different manner…and to different conclusions about what they mean for us.

Without striving for clarity, the leader leaves their intentions open to interpretation and at risk of promoting disjointed actions. This is the opposite of their intent.

Challenge without clarity breeds confusion. Effective leaders always add clarity to challenge.

See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/4913/6482/8785/2013-04.pdf

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