Ruthless Clarity – A Thought Leader’s Currency
I have recently been thinking about the idea of ruthless clarity… particularly its importance for thought leaders. But why is it important to thought leaders? Well, because ruthless clarity is a thought leader’s currency and superpower.
As a superpower, ruthless clarity delivers in two ways:
From the inside it supports real growth
From the outside it creates true positioning
Ruthless clarity supports real growth
I have a client who is a really high-performing consultant, Trudi. She runs a training company and has a team of facilitators and trainers working with her. Things are going so well in fact, that she’s now going through the next stage of her growth… and things are starting to fall over.
When we started to work together it became clear why. There was a lack of systems in her business. She had gone as far as she could but now she found her growth blocked. We realised that’s because she didn’t have her systems sorted.
Through my own practice, and working with so many incredible consultants, I’ve come to realise that sometimes – as thought leaders – we’re just too close to our own businesses. We can easily use checklists or Word docs because we know the business inside and out.
But if we don’t have SOPs (standard operating procedures) written down, we can struggle to grow because we won’t have the processes in place to allow others to take over that work. Or when we do pass that work on, everything will be slowed down as those who are responsible ask for meetings or call with questions because things simply aren’t clear.
I explained that the only way to create growth is through ruthless clarity.
Embracing ruthless clarity for growth
When I explained this to Trudi, she was at first shocked, then surprised and then excited. It made sense! This is why her growth had stagnated – the expertise was there, the clients were keen, but she was bogged down by questions, meetings and having to do so much herself – because she simply wasn’t being clear.
Growth – real growth – within a consulting or thought leadership practice requires zero ambiguity and absolute clarity. This is how you scale a practice and future proof growth, and it allows you to manage a huge variety of situations that you might face.
For example, you may have a staff member that goes on parental leave. If the processes around the work they are responsible for are clear, someone else can step in and take over that work. But if they’re not, you might be left in the lurch, struggling to manage tasks and potentially losing clients in the meantime.
Ruthless clarity creates true positioning
I’m often asked how to position yourself as a thought leader. It’s a great question. And it starts with ruthless clarity.
Ruthless clarity is about becoming super clear about your message. Many thought leaders have a fear of narrowing down. In fact, it’s my experience in life that people are easily seduced by the next shiny object. Opportunities are excellent, and ideas are the bread and butter of thought leaders. But without ruthless clarity, opportunities, ideas and competing demands can lead to stagnation rather than success.
The reality is that saying yes to everything just keeps you stuck. Without clarity you will attract the wrong clients and say yes to the wrong opportunities. On the other hand, when you have the confidence to focus, say no strategically and take action without hesitation, you can move forward. The most successful thought leaders master ruthless clarity to position themselves accurately in the market.
How to cultivate ruthless clarity
From the inside:
Systemise your expertise, document your processes, workflows and decision-making frameworks.
Establish what truly matters in your business and remove the things that cause confusion or inefficiency.
Invest in tools and automation that can help you delegate and scale your practice.
From the outside:
Define what you stand for and be non-negotiable about it.
Eliminate the noise by letting go of anything that doesn’t align with your core vision.
Commit to simplicity and keep your message and strategy crystal clear and crisp.
As a thought leader, clarity is currency
Clarity is the currency and the superpower of thought leaders. When you are super crisp and crystal clear both inside your business (with your systems and processes) and outside of your business with your messaging to the world, there is no doubt or ambiguity to undermine either your growth or your positioning.
