This week’s quick list is a companion piece to our Quote of the Week: Leading with Certainty vs Clarity. Read more about it here.
Then take on these ten tips for getting and keeping clarity….all great too for boosting morale, productivity and overall performance.
1. Have a clear vision.
A vision can be whatever you want. It can be about personal or professional life. It can be big or small, short term or long term. You can have more than one. You can have a vision for:
- what you want today to be like.
- what you want your office to look like.
- what you want your family relationships to be like.
- how you want your clients to feel when they do business with you.
Whatever it is you want people to help you with…clear up any blur. It will be easier to get there and easier to know when you do.
For more on this, read:
- Got a clear vision? Tips from Mack Brown, Disney, Isenhour, JFK & Steinbacher
- Is your vision missing in action?
2. Ask yourself why this vision is important to you? To others on the team? Keeping asking why.
Hopefully your answer shows that this vision is connected or aligned with:
- your overall purpose or mission
- your corporate and personal values
- personal and professional goals
For more on this, read: Why 5
3. Speaking of values…have you clarified these?
Does everyone know them? Do you just talk about them or do you live by them too?
4. Make expectations clear.
When vision and values are clear, it’s easier to make goals and expectations clear.
What do you expect? Have you told them?
What can they expect from you? Have you told them?
Post this as a reminder to yourself.
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5. Pretend to be Christopher Columbus.
It’s okay to get their opinion, get their input, listen to their concerns, etc….but once you have identified your vision and qualified it with questions in #2 above, stick with it.
6. Use visuals to clarify and remind.
Examples:
- EYE buttons at Eden Roc Hotel
- Performance Commitment at Performance Acura Dealership
- Green paper chains at University Directories
- Holiday wreath at the Chapel Hill Fire Department
7. Mind the Gap.
Visuals in #6 remind all of the vision or mission. Visuals are also important for minding the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
Think score boards, stat sheets and United Way style thermometers. These will provide data that will enable you to coach yourself and your teammates to remove/overcome obstacles to achieving your goals.
For more on this, see: 10 tips for minding the gap
8. Celebrate progress.
It could be a pizza party, a festive Woohoo! or the presentation of a new green link for the chain.
Any attention at all will reinforce and clarify direction.
9. In case you get unfocused, rattled or even a bit crazy feeling…
Problems with link? Try this.
10. Get help from your coach.
If you don’t have one, contact me and I’ll help you find one.
Any other ideas for getting and keeping clarity? I’d love to hear from you.
*Note: 10 by 10 on Tuesday (also know as a Quick List) is a weekly feature is for managers who don’t have time or don’t want to make time to read lengthy articles or even short paragraphs. Here you will find 10 tips or questions or steps or ways to Get 2 Goal or Be a Better Manager, etc). And it will be posted by 10 (AM – EST) on Tuesdays. Here’s our collection of Quick Lists to date.
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