Are We Clear?

“We follow orders or people die. ‘Are we clear?’ Yes, sir. ‘Are we clear??’ Crystal!” It’s a great exchange in the movie A Few Good Men, where Tom Cruise's character is cross-examining Jack Nicholson's character.

Clarity, it turns out, is more than just a great line in a movie; it’s critical for success as both a seller and a leader. Whether I’m speaking with managers in broadcasting, coaching leaders through our Leadership Masterclass, or talking with students preparing to enter the workforce, I keep hearing variations of the same concern. People are tired.

Not necessarily because they're working harder. Not because they have more on their plate. They're tired because they're trying to figure out what success actually looks like.

A recent Psychology Today article highlighted research that analyzed more than 60 years of workplace data involving approximately 800,000 workers. Researchers examined three common workplace stressors:

• Role overload (too much work)
• Role conflict (competing demands)
• Role ambiguity (unclear expectations)

The results weren't even close. Role ambiguity emerged as the most significant stressor, more strongly associated with burnout, disengagement and turnover than either workload or competing priorities.

I was on a call this week with a state broadcast organization. We were planning the content for their fall conference. As is usually the case, I ask what the members are struggling with. Two words came from that conversation: uncertainty and ambiguity.

Artificial intelligence is changing workflows overnight. Companies are restructuring. Job descriptions are evolving faster than they can be rewritten. Expectations seem to shift every quarter. Employees are left wondering what matters most, how they're being measured, what they should prioritize and what success actually looks like. When those questions aren't answered clearly, people don't stop working. They simply burn enormous amounts of energy trying to figure out the rules of the game.

Salespeople are especially vulnerable. A seller can handle rejection. A seller can handle pressure. A seller can even handle a difficult goal. What wears people down is uncertainty. In our Leadership MasterClass, we talk about the incredible motivational power of job clarity. If you know what you’re supposed to be doing and what success looks like, you can achieve it. If you don’t know those things, it feels like you're playing whack-a-mole, and it’s exhausting.

One manager says prospecting is the priority. Another emphasizes customer retention. Leadership talks about digital growth. Compensation plans reward something slightly different. Suddenly, the seller spends more time trying to interpret expectations than serving clients.

The Psychology Today article points out that the human brain treats uncertainty as a threat. When people don't know what success looks like, they devote mental energy trying to gain control of their environment instead of focusing on creativity, problem-solving and performance. Sounds bad, right?

That's why one of our most important responsibilities as leaders is creating clarity. Clarity about goals. Clarity about priorities. Clarity about decision-making. Clarity about what winning looks like.

The best sales managers I've known don't necessarily remove pressure. They remove confusion. Their teams know exactly what is expected. They know which activities matter most. They know how decisions are made. They know where they stand. Ironically, when people understand the target, they're often more willing to stretch, grow and take risks because uncertainty has been replaced with confidence. People can tolerate pressure far longer than they can tolerate confusion.

As leaders, we sometimes assume people need more motivation. What they may actually need is more clarity. As salespeople, we sometimes assume stress is simply part of the job. Sometimes the stress isn't coming from the work itself. Sometimes it's coming from not knowing exactly what work matters most.

The fix may be simpler than we think. During your next sales or all staff meeting, ask if they know what “success” looks like and what’s expected of them. Have the conversation. Clarify expectations. Define success. Because when people know where they're going, they usually have far more energy to get there.

Think Big, Make Big Things Happen!

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. You can also connect with him on X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.