Clarity Drives Execution
Clarity is the difference between strategy that moves and strategy that stalls. If your team doesn’t “get” the strategy, you have no chance of executing it. Yet, clarity doesn’t happen by accident. It requires discipline: cutting through ambiguity, prioritizing what matters most, and ensuring that every person understands not just the what, but the why behind the strategy.
Ann Latham wrote the definitive book on clarity: The Power of Clarity: Unleash the True Potential of Workplace Productivity, Confidence, and Empowerment.
She pointed out to me a critical challenge when it comes to strategy: Many high-level leaders assume they are clearer than they actually are. This belief stems from their position at the top of the hierarchy, where they naturally think in broad, high-level terms. But as their vision moves down through the organization, it loses precision. Assumptions replace understanding, and teams struggle to connect strategy with execution.
“They think, ‘Of course I’m clear,’” Ann explains. “They might even be clearer than the average leader, but they don’t realize how much ambiguity exists between their high-level vision and what it takes to execute at the ground level.”
This disconnect can lead to misaligned efforts, wasted time, and unnecessary frustration. Leaders believe they’ve communicated the strategy effectively, while teams, hesitant to admit confusion, move forward based on assumptions rather than shared understanding.
Ann highlights a key difference between operational clarity and strategic clarity. In warehouses and factories, processes are so precisely defined that alarms sound the moment something goes wrong. The feedback is immediate, and workers know exactly what to do. But in office environments, there are no sirens. When a strategy is vague, when marketing teams don’t know which customers to target, or when priorities shift without warning, confusion festers silently. By the time anyone realizes there’s a problem, valuable time and effort have already been wasted.
To execute effectively, you need to eliminate ambiguity. Everyone should be speaking the same language, understanding their role in the bigger picture, and moving in the same direction. Clarity isn’t just about defining the strategy; it’s about making it impossible to misunderstand.
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This post is an excerpt from my upcoming book, a practical handbook for executing strategy from an operator’s point of view. Drawing on decades of real-world experience, it’s designed to help leaders turn strategy into action through clear, actionable steps. Stay tuned for more insights and updates as we get closer to launch!
