My daughter and son-in-law gave me a choice on my 60th (the new 40… right?) birthday. Both were things that I had never experienced. One was a pedicure, and the other was a skydiving trip over the Gulf of Mexico. It didn’t take me long to make this choice, and we booked our skydive trip.
I can’t explain the feeling of free-falling out of a plane over the ocean (tethered to my instructor, Juan). But I can tell you that the perspective from 10,000 feet is amazing. I saw things in a totally different light. I had an unobstructed view for miles and miles. As we parachuted toward the beach, my view changed again. When we landed on the beach, my scene was again different.
Many times we think we see with clarity when in actuality we are seeing things from our own perspective. Realizing that there is a bigger picture or a different view from our own creates the ability to gain understanding and insight. Allowing ourselves permission to listen and truly hear others gives us the opportunity to learn and grow as leaders, as humans.
My skydiving trip was a blast. It was also a reminder that there are incredible sights to see when we look from another person’s point of view. Choose to broaden your perspective, and you will make a difference!
Larry Little
Eagle Center for Leadership
Clarity in leadership means communicating simply and directly so our teams know what’s expected of them and how their duties fit into the bigger picture. Clear leaders communicate goals and priorities in plain language and check that the message was understood as intended; our job isn’t complete until the person receiving it understands it the same way we do. Clarity reaches beyond the words we use. Decision-making and delegation depend on it, since our teams need to know who owns what and why. Clarity around how the team’s work connects to the organization’s wider purpose can also drive engagement.
People can only do their best when they’re clear on what success should look like. When expectations are vague, team members spend time guessing, and guesses lead to duplicated effort and missed deadlines. Leaders who provide clarity spare their teams this wasted energy. Providing clarity builds trust, since team members feel more confident when they know where they stand and what comes next. Clarity is an important factor in accountability, since it’s unfair to hold someone to standards we ourselves have failed to communicate properly.
“Clarity accounts for probably 80% of success and happiness.”
In this module, we’ll see how the best leaders communicate clearly with their teams. From Confusion to Clarity helps us decide what to focus on and communicate those priorities. Say Less, Mean More focuses on making our messages clear and concise. SMART Goals, Clear Results teaches us how to turn priorities into measurable goals. These lessons will help us set priorities and see our teams achieve results. Let’s get started!
