Clarity: And What Happens When There Isn't Any

Let’s start with a bold question: Are you busy or are you productive? 

Do projects lie dormant or become obsolete while waiting on a lengthy approvals process? Are you wasting time with numerous meetings to prepare for “the big” meeting? And when that’s finished, do you find that you have little time to actually get things done? The truth is, people do not feel cared for when there is no clarity for their roles, their time, and when purpose is passive. 

As storytellers who have been around the block a few times, we can relate. Oftentimes our creative and news-savvy nature drives time-sensitive campaigns that impact ROI—and for marketers, this sort of confusion can completely upend the dashboard and reduces productivity. This specific lack of care can have far-reaching effects on you and your team’s or client's morale as creativity slips and energy wanes—it is demotivating and draining.

Without clarity, critical talent walks. Leadership loses credibility and the mission is muddled. And that can quickly spill outward, eroding brand strength, storytelling and the credibility needed to move forward.

KEY STATS: Only 46% of US employees clearly know what is expected of them and only 39% strongly agree that someone at work cares about them as a person. Globally, only 21% of employees are engaged at work, showing how many organizations fail to connect people to meaningful purpose. The impacts stack when leadership is unclear: A McKinsey Quarterly report showed that 61% of managers say that at least half the time spent making decisions is ineffective, leading to a staggering 530,000 days of managers’ time potentially squandered each year for a typical Fortune 500 company, equivalent to some $250 million in wages annually.

Clarity protects culture and attracts clients. It keeps good people in the room whose voices and diverse experiences can help answer brand questions: What do we want people to feel? Why should they care about our message? Are we able to solve a problem for them? 

This is why the first pillar of our CARE framework is Clarity—it drives internal alignment, which fuels stronger storytelling and external brand authority.

What does this mean for Hustlers like you?

• START your next decision-making meeting with relevant, insight-generating questions: What are we solving? What does success look like to you? 
• ENGAGE with a weekly 2-bullet “Clarity Note” for your team and identify: Priorities - Decisions - Timelines
• ASK team members to respond to this note with a one-sentence take on each, tying Priorities - Decisions - Timelines to campaign or company goals. 

Clarity exercises like this will cut the BS round-robins,  shorten and streamline meetings, and create synergy so everyone will feel more confident and valued in their roles. However, remember that clarity without authenticity creates performance instead of leadership. Be clear, be intentional, get stuff done.

HUSTLER'S HOT TIP #1 🔥: Clear the deck - consider whether your meeting can be an email, a WhatsApp message or a quick video note. Routine and regular meetings are good practice, but use your tech stack to make work better and -- dare we say it? --  fun. Do not meet for meeting's sake. Team members and clients alike can resent this time suck if there is no clearly identified reason to meet aside from "it's on our calendar."

In our next feature, we move into the A in CARE: Authenticity. We’ll identify three markers to help determine whether your company, organization or brand is operating with genuine alignment between values, culture, and public voice. These conversations are designed to offer both reflection and real solutions that can be applied immediately.

Organizations that combine clarity with authentic culture will retain strong people, build loyalty, and grow sustainably. Those that do not will find themselves constantly recruiting, constantly repositioning, and constantly reacting instead of leading.

Return for the next installment, share this with someone building alongside you, and step into a space designed for growth, visibility, and meaningful success rooted in CARE.

Sources:

• 1 Gallup. (2022). State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report. Gallup. 
• 2 Harter, Jim. U.S. Employee Engagement Sinks to 10-Year Low. Gallup, Jan. 14, 2025.
• 3, 4 De Smet, Aaron, Gregor Jost, and Leigh Weiss. “Three Keys to Faster, Better Decisions.” McKinsey & Company, 2019.