One of the greatest privileges of my work is spending time with executive teams. For a day or two, we step away from the pace of the organisation and create space for conversations that rarely happen when everyone’s rushing from one meeting to the next. They’re honest, challenging and often transformational.
Every team is different, but one thing continues to surprise me.
The biggest issue is rarely capability. More often, it’s clarity.
Executive teams are made up of intelligent, experienced people who genuinely want the organisation to succeed. They care deeply, work incredibly hard and spend hours discussing strategy, priorities and performance.
Yet despite all of that effort, progress can stall because people leave the room with slightly different interpretations of what was actually decided.
I’ve seen it happen more times than I can count. One person assumes the decision has been made. Another believes they’re leading the work. Someone else thinks it’s still being explored. A week later, frustration starts to build because everyone thought they were working from the same plan.
One of the questions I often ask executive teams is, “If I stopped each of you in the car park after this meeting and asked you to tell me the top three priorities for the next month, would I hear the same answer?”
The room usually becomes very quiet, because most leaders have seen this so many times, they already know the answer.
We often forget that communication has two sides – one is sending the information the other is receiving AND understanding. Discussing a strategy doesn’t mean everyone has interpreted it the same way, and presenting a decision doesn’t automatically create alignment around what happens next.
The strongest executive teams I’ve worked with are the most disciplined in their approach to clarity. They revisit priorities, test assumptions and ask people to explain decisions in their own words. They challenge ambiguity before it becomes confusion because they know that ten minutes spent creating shared understanding can save weeks of rework.
Once the way forward is clear, leaders can leave the room with a shared understanding of the priorities, their individual responsibilities and the message they will communicate to the rest of the organisation.
That’s what builds trust.
Employees shouldn’t expect leaders to have every answer, but they should expect consistency. When leaders communicate different priorities or send mixed messages, uncertainty grows. Decisions slow down, teams begin protecting their own area and momentum is lost.
At your next executive meeting, take the time as you go to review each agenda item and ask:
- What decisions did we make?
- What are our priorities before we meet again?
- Who is personally accountable for what?
If there are lots of nodding heads, congratulations, you’ve created clarity.
But if there’s any uncertainty, you’ll know straight away and it can be sorted out then and there.
In my experience, momentum depends on people leaving the room with the same understanding of what has been decided and what happens next. I’ve seen the difference it makes, time and time again.