What Is Clarity?
I was speaking with a consultant friend who coaches professionals, and her cohort of clients (who are in a variety of roles) are all wrestling with the idea of clarity in their work and career.
So...what is clarity? Let's look at four dimensions:
Clarity of Purpose. What is your reason, your highest-level aim and objective? For companies, this should be embedded in their Mission/Purpose statements. And individuals who have this kind of personal/professional clarity are far better equipped to make successful decisions. At this level, we're answering the question, Why?
Clarity of Direction. Where are we going? What is the endpoint or goal? What lane are we swimming in, and what do we want to accomplish? With this, we're answering the question, Where? Every organization and individual benefits from having a focused direction.
Clarity of Expectations. Very important for leaders and managers, this is where people are informed of the particular behaviors and outcomes that are desired or required. To set people up for success, we have to answer the questions, What? and How? This level gets very much into the specifics of the situation and people involved - applying general principles to particular circumstances.
Clarity of Expression. This means employing the principles of effective communication design by using words that are clear, attention-getting, vivid, and simple to understand. At this level, we're answering the question, What are you saying? Which includes this triplet of sub-questions: What's the point?, What do you mean?, and What's the desired change? This dimension is for everybody - literally. We ALL need to communicate clearly.
Actually, all 4 dimensions are fueled by one keyword: Focus. When your work and words are focused, not vague and diffuse, you are able to win.
Focus and clarity are conjoined twins.
Now, when I consult for companies (brand strategy and messaging) and individuals (personal brand and career direction), we're mainly tackling 1 (Purpose), 2 (Direction), and 4 (Expression).
When consulting for teams inside organizations, it may be any combination of 1 (Purpose), 2 (Direction), 3. (Expectations), and 4 (Expression).
When doing Clarity workshops for groups (development training), most of the focus is typically on 4 (Expression), which is the application of the Clarity Fuel Formula for Effective Communications.
An organization can start with any of these emphases, but can you imagine how much more effective any group could become with clarity being embraced and practiced at ALL of these levels? The impact can be astronomical.
I also realized, as I was writing my book The Point, that I had never hammered out a single-statement definition of the term, though I'd been advocating for clarity for so many years. So here's that summary definition:
Clarity = Focused ideas expressed in brain-friendly words. That simple phrase encompasses all 4 dimensions. Because the entire Formula is based on designing our messages in accord with the human brain's operating system, that's why I put so much emphasis on "brain-friendly." Brain-hostile communications are confusing, ambiguous, or over-burdened with Too Much Information (TMI) or vague jargon.
Everyone can become skilled at brain-friendly communication design. It’s the ultimate competitive advantage.