Clarity: How to Begin Leading Change – Clarify (Part 6 of 6)

FIFTH, CLARIFY by, well,  asking clarifying questions and eliminating assumptions as much as possible. 

You ask questions to further elaborate on the desired outcome: WHAT KIND OF…. THAT’S LIKE WHAT…?

So when you love for people to be more collaborative, what kind of ‘collaborative’ is that collaborative? (CLARIFY). 

I tell you what, for one person, collaborative means simply turning up, being present, and agreeing to whatever leaders decide. 

For another, being collaborative means saying their piece, having a voice, and contributing to decisions. 

Two very different types of collaboration. Neither right nor wrong. 

The point is, given nuanced contexts, the meaning of what we desire is different for everybody. 

Let’s get back to the change you want to create. 

I guarantee, if you say, you want everyone to be collaborative, every single person would have their own idea of what it means to collaborate. Respond to e-mails? Say yes to whatever decision the boss makes? Proactively debate issues? Contribute to a solution? 

But this is not about getting to understand every single interpretation of what it is you want to have happen.

This is simply to point out that if you want people to join you on the journey to the change you want to create, it starts with everyone facing the right direction. 

Do you have a shared meaning of the change you want to create?

Can others articulate what you want to have happen with the same outcomes you stated?

Do people know what that change looks like, sounds like and feels like?

BE CLEAR AND YOU BECOME CREDIBLE.  

BE CLEAR AND THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO CREATE BECOMES COMPELLING.

While this is just the beginning, it is a strong foundation to leading the change you want to create.