Create clarity: Why leaders must be focused on collaborative coherence

The age-old question leaders ask across all industries and companies - how can we collaborate and lead powerfully?

In today’s current climate, the question deepens - how can we lead teams in the most effective way as we navigate the complexities of globalized business and virtual communication?

Beyond the tools of communication techniques, collaborative software, and even company culture, there is one simple yet potent solution relevant to business across the board.?

I really believe that all leaders & teams would benefit from this...

...Clarity.

Let’s talk about what this means and how to create organizational clarity to enhance business success (and create a more enjoyable experience for the workforce).

Collaboration tools for business were adopted globally with the abrupt shift to remote work. The digital innovations that happened allowed people the flexibility to continue their work and stay connected (albeit virtually) to their organizations.?

But of course, as with many functions of life that have changed from in-person to virtual or remote interaction, there are challenges. Collaboration gets difficult when there are inefficient processes and a lack of clarity.?

As leaders, how can we address these challenges to become more agile, resilient, and innovative moving forward?

How can we nurture our teams and the work they do in such a way that we aren’t sacrificing communication and quality of work due to these challenges, but instead flourishing despite them?

Here are key takeaways:

1. Lead by example

We’ve probably all had an experience where we are being led or taught by someone who seems to be acting in complete opposition to what they’re saying. Essentially, we lose trust in them.?

Without trust in our leaders, we are far less likely to listen to them. Employees will start to ‘beat to the rhythm of their own drum’ when they don’t feel confident in their leader. This creates a disjointed workforce; one where people are even less likely to communicate and collaborate.?

There is less understanding around what each person is doing, and how they are contributing to the common objectives of the company.?

So, it starts with leaders embodying what they are sharing. As leaders, we must facilitate communication and collaboration. We must focus on enhancing clarity within our teams, not just through sharing the concept, but through our everyday actions.?

2. Set and manage OKRs

“Objective and Key Results” (OKRs) is a methodology used by teams to set key organization goals that have measurable results. That way, you can track progress and encourage engagement for executing the goals with far more transparency.?

Leaders must be crystal clear about what the organizational goals are, and be sure that every individual within the team is aligned with these goals. Accountability is key here - when there are regular meetings, discussions, check-ins, and communication about the OKRs led by management, all members of the team are kept accountable.?

The bottom line is, it’s not enough to have one initial meeting on the goals of the company and then think that this is enough to keep individuals motivated and on-task. Especially when people are less physically present, constant reminders of these goals are vital.

3. The pyramid of clarity - my super learning since joining Asana :)

As a leader, you know that your efforts must be directed to help your team prioritize their work in a way that supports the organization’s overall goals. Knowing what is most important and what will create the most impact is key in using our working hours most effectively.

Firstly, your team must be aligned with the same vision. Secondly, your goals must be connected with a clear strategy for execution. All of this isn’t new information for you.?

But the way that you execute this - that’s the difference between knowing that your team must be aligned, and actually implementing ways to create this clarity.?

At Asana, we use something very helpful - the pyramid of clarity.

Rather than an actual ‘function’ of Asana, it’s a framework that connects our everyday work back to strategic objectives. When you ‘build’ a pyramid of clarity with the team, you can track your progress more easily and realign when you see that the efforts aren’t contributing to the main objective.?

We’ve found that when employees feel that the organization is putting effort into leading effectively and enhancing clarity, they are 3X more inspired to meet their objectives and 4X more likely to feel engaged at work. This is huge since remote working is something that often pulls down employee engagement and interaction.

The pyramid explained.

The tip of the pyramid is the company mission, below that, you have key objectives. The objectives are often part of portfolios, which inspire projects. The tasks that every individual completes in their working hours are those which are part of the project.?

In essence, every task as part of the project should be connected to the portfolio of work that is guided by objectives to meet the company’s overall mission. For more information about the pyramid of clarity and how to use it with OKRs, read here.

The benefits of a system like this - and leaders actively sharing this with employees regularly - are as follows:

• More effective resource allocation
• Time saved on re-aligning initiatives and tasks when goals shift
• Better progress reporting
• Course-correcting and identifying duplicate work is easier
• More transparent information for individuals to prioritize.

In essence, cross-functional collaboration and strong communication led by embodied leaders is vital to ensure that there is clarity within an organisation.?

With this visibility and accountability, there is enhanced productivity, and at the end of the day, a greater sense of camaraderie within a company.?

People want to feel like what they are doing is making a difference. They want to feel how connected each of their tasks is to the greater mission. People want to feel empowered, yet also compassion from leaders through the changing landscape of their work.?

We can give this to people, as leaders. We can give this to ourselves.?

I’d love to hear about what clarity in the workforce means to you, and anything that this post brought up for you around leadership and virtual collaboration.?

Share comments, questions, and thoughts in the comments below!