Clarity Over Certainty

This week was a full fast one.  It blew by.  The days were long, yet were over before I even knew it.  Five flights in three days. Two cities and eight hours of presentations. 

There was not time to be tired until today.  I am gassed.  Running on put our heads down and just go.  That was this week.

I have to say though that the thing that made it doable was that I was very clear about what I was doing and what I needed to accomplish.  That clarity allowed me to perform at a high level even when the situations were not optimal.  I knew where I was going and how to get there.  As a result, regardless of how I was feeling I could take the steps I needed.

A friend of mine talks about how being clear is often more powerful than being certain.  In other words, clarity is a better path to pursue than certainty.  Clarity over certainty. 

As leaders we can help create clarity for our direct reports and as such, they will have a better chance of performing at a higher level.  A mentor of mine used to say that mental training was a way to just buy more lottery tickets for your outcomes.  I like that because training the mind gives you a chance to have more better outcomes, it doesn’t guarantee it, but it can stack the odds in our favor.  The same is true with creating a clear path, a clear organizational vision, a clear job description etc. 

Think about it.  One of the destinations I had this week was Park City, Utah.  I had never been there.  I arrived at night.  I drove forty minutes from the airport to get there.  There was snow on the ground and in the air.  If I had driven forty minutes with a fogged-up windshield and no working wipers, it would have been a very difficult drive.  As it was the defroster worked great as did the windshield wipers.  In addition, I used Waze and the navigation app simply told me where to go.  So, I had clear vision and clear direction thus increasing my chances of arrival.  Clarity over certainty. 

What can you do today right now to help others get clear?  What can you do to help yourself get clear?