Do your people have clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations? If they don’t, it’s not just inefficient—it’s a recipe for predictable breakdowns. When people lack clarity about what they’re accountable for and how success is measured, they’re effectively operating in the dark.
Consider these common scenarios:
A client relationship manager doesn’t fully understand the scope of her role, and clients begin to feel underserved. Her supervisor, frustrated by the complaints, fails to provide clear feedback — so the same issues persist.
A senior manager enters a politically sensitive situation without understanding the dynamics and unintentionally alienates peers. His leader avoids addressing the behavior, and the manager’s effectiveness continues to erode.
A manager tolerates the disruptive behavior of a disgruntled team member, hoping the problem will resolve itself. Instead, morale suffers and performance declines.
When leaders are asked about situations like these, the response is often: “They should know better.”
Perhaps. But when feedback is absent, it’s as if leaders expect people to be clairvoyant. Clear expectations set direction; timely feedback corrects course. Leadership requires more than setting expectations once and hoping for the best—it requires ongoing, specific communication about what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change.
Leadership principle: Clarity is a leadership responsibility, not a personality trait. Avoid the clairvoyance trap and take action. Constructive feedback isn’t always comfortable, but leaders who develop this capability strengthen individual performance, reinforce accountability, and build trust across the organization.
In the end, clarity isn’t about control—it’s about enabling people to do their best work and helping the business move forward with fewer surprises.
“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”
– Albert Einstein
Header image by Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels.
