Driving Toward Clarity

In this chapter, I’ll introduce the last foundational skill – driving toward clarity. It is not a single step in the management process but is instead a skill that is applied to every process we drive and every decision we make. It is the reason why you will hear the TPM in the room ask why and how. It’s why you see TPMs run meeting after meeting, working session after working session, and attending every standup that they can fit into their schedule. They are constantly taking the data they have and clarifying it so that it has no ambiguity left and is easier to understand and follow. This then feeds into getting consensus because, without clarity, it is hard to get past the first stage of getting everyone onto the same page, and we can’t move on to driving consensus.

As this skill permeates everything we do as leaders, it is not a pillar but the mortar that transforms a pile of bricks into a wall. It is an integral part of who...