A few years ago, I was inspired by William Bridges to address the issue of navigating the uncertainties that come with changes.

The whole change process will trigger many emotions from grieving from what we leave behind us, to going through the messy middle, and transitioning to the new reality.

That day, I used this concept because I wanted to acknowledge that everyone will react differently to change and that we needed to be mindful of that diversity.

I wanted every team member to be mindful of their colleagues, caring and respecting each other throughout the process.

If helping each other to process the change – and any emotions that would come with it – was fundamental for the department’s future, it became obvious that it was not enough.

Changing implies that there is a shift to a new reality.

The core of this shift is the “neutral zone” according to W. Bridges, or otherwise often described as the messy middle.

My job as a leader from the middle is to “unmess” things, in other words, create clarity.

Recently, I have told my colleagues that my purpose is to create clarity.

Stating this makes a lot of sense to me. But is it needed for my colleagues? Am I making something important for me an unnecessary generality for the rest of the organization? Am I dragging my stakeholders selfishly into something that would only help me and mitigate my insecurities?

I do have a bias for clarity.

I wrote about the Insights Discovery tool in an earlier post. This tool, based on Dr Carl G Jung's psychological types of theory, shows our observable behavioural patterns. The theory is based on the interaction of two opposite attitudes, extraversion, and introversion, as well as four functions, further split into two rational functions – thinking and feeling, and two irrational functions – sensation and intuition.

I have done this assessment twice, with consistent results.

I am right in the middle between the cool blue and the earth green.

When I read the report, it appears that I have an affinity for structure and order…!

Quote from the report: “He prefers to live his life in a structured and organized manner and prefers to work within established guidelines on tasks”. Yes, that must sound like a nightmare for my red and yellow colleagues.

Further, four of my ten management needs have the word “clear”. Clear statements for deadlines, quality, requirements, expectations, areas of responsibility, and designated tasks…

I surely have a bias for clarity.

This is what causes my trouble.

When I say my purpose is to create clarity, am I just projecting my bias to others?

At first sight, the answer is “clearly” yes.

Is it a bad thing? That depends.

Having an affinity for clarity has some positive aspects. I bring order and structure through my organizational qualities as a team member. I am a caring team player who honours my commitments. I encourage a calm working environment. I set high standards for myself and accept responsibility for the task completion.

However I can have difficulty working effectively with spontaneous creativity, and that way can stifle innovation in others. And I can be perceived as being terminally serious… boring…!

The good thing is that I know it. I try to surround myself with people who are different from me, so we can complement each other.

But is my need for clarity unique to me? Certainly not.

Let me give you an extremely simplistic comparison. Take any collective sports. Each player on the field or the pitch has a distinctive number or position.

If you take rugby, for instance, the players 1 to 8 (the big and tall ones) are those tasked with the obscure role of physically marking the adversaries. The 9 and 10 organize the game and are responsible for the strategy. The players 11 to 15 are often the heroes of the games, as their role is to run fast and bring the ball to the opponent’s side of the pitch to score tries.

There is a lot more nuance to it. Nevertheless, if all players play the same role, it would be complete chaos and an assured win for the opponents.

Like at work, you should know your responsibilities, understand your role in influencing the wider organization, and how you contribute to the company strategy.

This seems obvious, but it is not always the case. Spending your time aligning with your co-workers to figure out what you are supposed to do instead of doing your job is a motivation killer. This would discourage the most committed employee. Wandering in organizational chaos can create frustration, stress, and confusion. The more resourceful will leave to find a job where they can express their potential. Others may stay, uncommitted and potentially suffer from burnout or bore-out.

As a leader from the middle, I genuinely believe that it is my moral obligation to provide clarity. Clarity about the organizational structure, clarity about the roles and responsibilities, clarity about the expectations and goals…

It is not only necessary for the individuals but also for the company overall. A work organization will tremendously benefit from team members in a position to use their skills and develop to their potential.

If you are convinced that clarity is a good thing, we will review a few ways to create it.

• First, this is not something that will happen overnight. Creating clarity is a long process that requires active and intentional pursuit.

• Second, it is not a one-man show. Even if I want to create clarity, I will not be able to do it alone. You must involve your team members in this journey, as they are the ones knowing the details of what needs to be clarified and how it can be clarified.

In his book “The Advantage”, Patrick Lencioni names four disciplines that leaders must adopt to create a healthy organization.

“Discipline 2” consists of creating organizational clarity by answering six questions:

1. Why do we exist? This is the organization’s core purpose and reason for being.

2. How will we succeed? This is the strategy that your organization will follow to deliver on its core purpose.

3. What do we do? The deliverables from your organization.

4. What’s most important right now? These are the key priorities for your organization and the goals to achieve them.

5. Who must do what? This consists of defining clear roles and responsibilities for each member of the organization.

6. How do we behave? This corresponds to the organization’s values and the expected behaviours to succeed.

Those six simple but powerful questions can help you and your team members set up a baseline for clarity.

However, in the exponentially complex world of work, change is the norm, not the exception.

The context surrounding your organization will change. This will require your organization to adapt and evolve to cope with its new environment.

New roles will need to be created or existing ones will need to be adjusted. This will have a knock-on effect on the RACI matrix – responsible, accountable, consulted, informed – you would have designed while setting up your baseline for clarity.

Creating clarity is a continuous process. It does not just happen once.

A few simple habits can be considered to keep clarity across the organization.

• Foster a psychologically safe work environment. Team members should feel safe to express themselves when they feel that there is a need for clarity. Making a habit of healthy dialogue should empower the team members to engage when there is ambiguity and resolve it. This should also help de-escalate conflicts.

• Role model open and transparent communication, whether in plenum or during regular one-on-ones. Leaders from the middle should continuously keep the organization informed about the state of the business and, when needed, explain the reasons for new orientations or why goals need to be re-evaluated. Likewise, they must stay updated about the day-to-day activities and help their team members to keep solution-focused rather than being distracted by confusion due to lack of clarity. Transparency both ways is paramount in this process.

• Ask for and give feedback. A healthy feedback culture is one of the best proactive measures to find sources of unclarity. Through feedback, weak signals can be detected before they become real issues.

• Finally, leaders from the middle should make asking if there is a need for more clarity a habit. It is as simple as that. Whether at the coffee machine, during a workshop, or a one-on-one, that simple question can help get a sense of the clarity level of your organization.

In my case, those habits might be perceived as me being me and being biased.

But it turns out that it is a ubiquitous issue.

Establishing a baseline of clarity will benefit the individuals and so the organization. Clarity of roles, responsibilities, and organizational design increases employee satisfaction and motivation. It is a catalyst for productivity and efficiency.

And it shall be kept over time to reflect the constantly evolving reality of the business.

What about you? Do you need clarity? And how do you create clarity at the workplace?

Come and share it on The Middle Management Anonymous Agora, our podcast! 

You can also contact me directly and engage with The Middle Management Anonymous community! 

As always, I will be happy to get your comments and feedback.