Leadership clarity with Kary Oberbrunner
There are three price tags for leadership clarity: choice, challenge, and change. But clarity is well worth the price!
I’d like to begin some thoughts about clarity at the end–the end of life’s journey we all have to face one day. It’s a topic we don’t like to dwell on, but it’s an important one. And it’s the subject of the last mistake covered in my own book, The Book of Mistakes.
Mistake 9: Believing you have all the time in the world.
Take Your Next Best Step
In this week’s episode of “Aim Higher,” I talk with my good friend Kary Oberbrunner about how hard it is to achieve clarity, even though the benefits are so, well… clear. When we have clarity about our vision–as individuals, people, and leaders–we can accomplish so much more. We aren’t distracted by side quests. We don’t spend time on unnecessary metrics. We can communicate our ideas and goals to our teams more readily, and they, in turn, can be transparent to the entire organization. “Clarity,” as Kary tells us, “means knowing your next, best step.”
Wouldn’t that be great? Always knowing your “next, best step”? That’s the gift of clarity. But it comes with a cost, too. Kary and I get into that in some depth. The fears that come with clarity. Because you’re forced to give up some illusions that, for many of us, are probably very tightly held and maybe even cherished. How do you get past those fears?
Kary and I come to the same conclusion. Take some time to think about “Mistake 9.” Because, at the end of every day–and every life–we need to look back and ask, “Did I act based on clear thoughts? True to my ideas and ideals? Or was I fooling myself and others?”
Listen to our conversation by clicking here.
Every day is precious. Every decision is important. When you string them together to create a life and a leadership journey, a straight path built on clarity will be one with far fewer regrets.
This isn’t an easy conversation to have with yourself. But Kary brings a great deal of grace, humility, and humor to the topic. I hope you’ll listen in.
More information about Kary’s book: Unhackable: The Elixir for Creating Flawless Ideas, Leveraging Superhuman Focus, and Achieving Optimal Human Performance.
Image Credit: Markus Spiske
