September 6

Clarity and Certainty

Creative work is—by nature—uncertain. You cannot know that any given strategy or decision is going to be the right one. Because of this, many creative pros and leaders become very unclear in how they communicate expectations and ideas. Because they are not certain of the right direc- tion, they hedge their bets by refusing to commit to one.

As you can imagine, this becomes a problem when that lack of clar- ity begins to trickle down to their team, their peers, or their client. Where precision is lacking, misunderstanding and anxiety are almost certain to follow.

You don’t have to be certain of your direction, but you must be clear about it. This is especially true if others are depending on you to make decisions for the work. The less clear you are, the more likely it is that others will misinterpret your expectations and get far off course—maybe even too far to correct in the time available.

As you consider your work today, look for any areas where you have become less clear simply because you are uncertain about the right direction.

To be effective, you must be clear about your strategy and direc- tion even when you are uncertain it’s the right one.

QUESTION

is there any place in your work (or life) where you need to be clearer about your intentions or expectations?