Beware fuzzy objectives

2023 is getting into gear, and teams are formalizing and communicating objectives for the coming year.

Work product teams are meeting, outcomes are being discussed - and misalignments are already emerging.

Every leadership team has an idea of what they want to accomplish. They might even know what "good" looks like. Most have yet to communicate this explicitly and clearly.

Many leaders work under the misperception that leading empowered teams means letting go (and hoping for the best). Your teams want clarity - not untethered autonomy.

Today's fuzzy objective is tomorrow's missed opportunity (or worse).

If you think your team is clear about its objectives, ask them to tell you what success will look like (explicitly) and how they'll know they are done.

If their explanation and your expectation diverge even a little, you have work to do.

Image Source: Dilbert