clarity: subtext becomes text

Leaders looking to deliver clarity can often do it to great effect in off-stage moments. Your all hands, your annual update, your keynote address - these are all good fora for clarity but they can’t meet the ongoing need your team has for it on their own.

I’ve found myself grateful over and over for leaders who do small scale clarity by bringing subtext into text. They name a weird vibe in a conversation and ask or suggest what might be done about it. They point out when traditional power dynamics would tilt in one direction but the current situation reverses that orientation. In ambiguous transitions, they assign ownership for making those transitions go really well. They say, “no one is using this process I put in place - let’s make it better or get rid of it or teach people how to use it better.” They acknowledge and legitimize negative or difficult feelings people may have about a thing they’ve chosen to do, without letting people off the hook. 

-Eric