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Thomas Kempis

Clarity is the most important virtue of the leader and manager.

All great leaders share that one same

quality: Definiteness of purchase – Goal focus.

You need a sharp image of the purpose of the team and be able to verbalise and define that image to everyone else who needs to know.

A purpose is the target that is the focus point of all team decisions and actions. Without a clear purpose, a team dissolves and fragments.

Secondly, “clarity” relates to standards. It means you should have a clear idea of the standards that you expect from every member of the team, including yourself.

If you are unclear about your goals, then you will not be able to make accurate decisions - you will not be able to communicate properly with other members of the team. If you focus your mind on attaining “goal focus”, then it will make leading and managing others much easier for you.

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Clarity of Purpose – Exercise

Think of three reasons why gaining “clarity of purpose” will make leading and managing others easier for you.

If a leader has goal focus, then that makes him or her more…

Think of two painful consequences that would follow from a lack of clear goals.

If a leader lacks clear goal focus, then that will mean that…

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How to develop “Clarity of Purpose”

In order to develop more clarity of purpose – goal focus; simply answer these seven questions with as much detail as possible:

1. What exactly do you want to achieve, at work, within the next year?

2. Name at least two benefits you will gain if you achieve the goal stated above.

3. In order to do this one thing, within one year, what three related, sub-goals do you need to achieve within the next six months?

4. Name three key people whose co-operation you will need to engage?

5. What material resources will you need to assemble?

6. Write out your best possible plans to achieve the sub goals stated in question three.

7. Name the first action to take and the exact date you will take it.

Print out the answers to the above questions and read them to yourself every day. Every two weeks, modify the answers as your current situation develops. Have you co-workers work on a joint document and develop a team goal.

Remember – success if possible only to those who have:

1. Clear goals

2. Meticulously written plans of action

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Clarity in Communication

Now you have mental clarity, the second virtue is “Clarity in Communication”.

Communication is defined as the “transfer of

information and/or emotion” . You need to be good at both.

Each team member must be able to communicate

their purpose in clear, unambiguous terms. A team

with clear ideas, but without the ability to

communicate would fail.

An ambiguous statement is one that can probably

be interpreted in more than one way. If your

messages have multiple meanings and rubber

definitions, what will be the effect on the resultant actions taken by others?

Why would habitual ambiguity cause you to fail?

It is your responsibility to be clear. People need to understand your message; even if they do not agree with you, they must understand you!

The transfer of information depends on the proper use of language - poorly worded, ambiguous or incomplete communication will cause errors.

This is because people may misinterpret your meaning and so the actions that follow will be equally confused and misguided. Remember this:

Understanding is more important than agreement.

In other words, it would be bad to have an “Agreement based on a misunderstanding”.

I want you first to understand me, and then earn your agreement.

Some people communicate on the opposite premise.

For example: In politics, many people intentionally blur their meaning and are purposefully vague.

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What would be long-term consequences of gaining temporary agreements based on misunderstandings?

What would be long-term benefits if you made clarity a priority, even if that means risking temporary disagreements? (Ie; they always understand you, but they don‟t always agree).

You may be asking, “I agree that clarity in communication is important, but how specifically can I improve the clarity of my communication?”

Here are five points to consider.

1. Use affirmative statements and avoid negation.

2. Define your most important concepts.

3. Answer questions and don‟t merely respond to them.

4. Structure your message.

5. Limit your message.

Let us look at each one.

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Negation v Affirmative Statements

An affirmative statement says what it is; a negated statement says what it is not.

Use affirmative, rather than negated statements.

Affirmative language is talking and thinking about what you do want, would like, and do believe in.

Negated language is talking and thinking about what you do not want, would not like, and do not believe in.

Too many people focus their minds on their troubles and the causes - they talk for too long about what will not work and why. They are stuck in the mental habit of negation.

Continually thinking about what you do not want is not enough.

To help others, learn to have them focus their minds on what they do want.

Negation Errors

Negation is trying to have someone understand:

What you want-

by telling them what you do not want.

What you think they should do-

by telling them what to stop doing.

What you think is true-

by telling them what you think is false.

What you agree with-

by telling them what you oppose.

Negation is inherently ambiguous if used alone (without the affirmative).

Saying “X is wrong” leaves completely open the question of “What is right? ”

Too much negation will tie you up in “NOT”s - ensure that the last thing they hear from you, as they leave the room is a statement of what you do want.

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Be prepared to define your most important concepts

In business, there are many words and phrases that fall into the category of “Often used, but ill defined. ”

Examples of these words and phrases are:

 Fair

 Unfair

 Top priority

 Professional

 Quality product

 Attitude problem

 Unacceptable dress

“Justice and power must be brought

together, so that whatever is just may be

For example:

powerful, and whatever is powerful may be

just.”

We all agree that “fairness” is a virtue; we need to treat others Blaise Pascal (French Mathematician,

fairly. We must not treat others unfairly - we all agree on that.

Philosopher and Physicist, 1623-1662)

So why does “fairness” cause so many problems?

The answer is; there are many versions of “fairness”.

To you, what does it mean, in practice, to treat others fairly?

Does “fairness” mean?

 Treating everyone the same?

 Treating everyone according to their individual need?

 Treating everyone according to their individual merit?

 Treating everyone according to how you honestly feel?

 Treating everyone according to company policy?

 Or some combination of the above?

 Or something else?

Fairness causes us problems because there is ambiguity of meaning. You should always be clear on what you mean when you use the word.

Imagine you were in a meeting and the boss said,

“I want you all to do the right thing”.

Everyone would agree they should do the right thing - the boss has agreement, but not an understanding. What would happen? Everyone would implement their own notion of “the right thing”, and everyone would go running off in different directions. That is the problem with language: It is often vague.

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Remember this:

In business, Vagueness is vice. Clarity is a virtue.

Before coordinated action can take place, somebody has to define the most important concepts.

The same principle is true for you. You must be ready and able to define exactly what you mean when you use certain key terms. There are many common concepts that we agree on (on the surface) but disagree on when we implement our own particular meaning.

Here are examples of key concepts you might want to consider spending some time developing: What in practice is your understanding of the following concepts?

 Fairness

 Professional attitude

 Quality service

 The most valuable use of your time.

 Professional dress code

 The correct use of humour

For example, what if you said that the other person “Displayed an unfair attitude”, and the person disagreed with you and challenged you: He says: “What specifically do you mean by “unfair”?” Would you be able to explain yourself?

If you were able to define the term “fairness”, demonstrate that the action fell outside of that category, you would have achieved clarity. But what if you were stumped by the question and said,

“Um… Everyone knows what unfair is.”?

What would be the long-term painful consequences you would suffer if you gained the

reputation for being unable to define your most important concepts?

Both in terms of:

1. Your credibility

2. Your persuasiveness?

The point is this; clarity requires introspective thinking to define frequently used, but ill-defined terms.

Be prepared to define your most important concepts.

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Distinguish between Answers vs. responses

There is a difference between:

1. An “answer to a question”, and

2. A “response to a question”.

Have you noticed that some politicians have the tendency to respond to questions, but not to answer them?

What is the difference between an answer and a response?

An “answer” to a question satisfies the requirements of the question.

“Asking the right questions takes as much

skill as giving the right answers.”

It is logically connected to the question and provides more Robert Half

information or a clearer definition. It differentiates one concept from another or explains a relationship.

A “response” does not do any of these things.

A person may “respond” to, but not answer, a question by:

 Changing the subject

 Answering the question they wished you had asked.

 Bursting into tears

 Shouting

 Asking a question in return (“Why are you asking?”)

Over the long stretch, what happens to someone who gains a reputation for not answering questions, but only as one who responds to them?

What happens to a person who does not distinguish between an answer and a response? (i.e. They mistake a response for an answer?)

Remember this:

Your goals should include to

 Answer questions, accurately.

 Notice when your questions are not being answered, (and consider re-stating the question).

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Structure your message like a tree

Knowledge is hierarchical.

It has a branching structure, similar to a tree.

1. Fundamental ideas form the “trunk”. These are the three or four essentials of the message.

2. Next come the “Major themes” of the message that grow from the fundamentals, like branches.

3. Later come the “Minor themes” growing from the major.

4. Finally, there are the numerous details, like the leaves on a tree.

It is important to deliver your message in a logical order.

What happens in the mind of the listener if you tell them all the facts, but they are all jumbled up, out of order?