Yet in the business world there’s often the sort of “failure to communicate” referenced in the movie Cool Hand Luke.
That failure in the movie resulted in the premature demise of the hero. In real life when leaders are unclear about their expectations, employees often muddle through blindly, work at cross-purposes or pursue unintended, unproductive directions.
The result is poor organizational performance, if not an early obituary for the leader and his or her vision.
“Ambiguity is pervasive in every organization but is rarely recognized and poorly remedied, keeping organizations from achieving success,” says customer strategist and executive coach Robin Lawton, author of Mastering Excellence: A Leader’s Guide to Aligning, Strategy, Culture, Customer Experience & Measures of Success.
For example, most business leaders will say their top priorities include service and customer satisfaction. Yet seeking improvement in those areas without being clear on what you mean by them “is a fool’s errand,” Lawton says.
To make the journey from ambiguity to clarity, he says, leaders need to:
Ambiguity can cause chaos, confusion, conflict and unproductive competition in an organization, Lawton says. Leaders can take a first step to uncovering sources of ambiguity in five minutes, he says, by completing a free self-assessment he offers and the insights can be immediately applied.
Robin L. Lawton is an author, leadership strategist, executive coach, customer advocate, and motivational speaker (www.C3Excellence.com). He coined the term “customer-centered culture,” and his “C3” methodology has enabled numerous organizations to achieve rapid and significant growth. His work has been referenced by authors and experts in areas such as business excellence, leadership, customer experience and innovation.
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