Out of the two scenarios below, which team do you think will create a better game plan?

Team 1 is given the following information from leadership:

• We need to increase client retention
• It needs to be done this year
• The next year retention should be even better

Team 2 is given the following information from leadership:

• We need to increase client retention to 90% for the 2026 calendar year
• Initial proposal of how to increase client retention is due 8/15/25 to senior leadership with implementation expectation no later than 1/1/26
• Limited IT resources are available so please be specific with what may be needed
• Exit survey results from clients leaving us can be found here:
• 2027 expectation will be a 91.5% retention rate

While both Team 1 and Team 2 have a lot to work through on how to drive better client retention, I’ll take my chances on Team 2. There’s clarity and detail to help shape exactly what is expected. While ambiguity will always exist, there’s a much better attempt at mitigating confusion with the clarity Team 2 is provided compared to Team 1.

I have a feeling all of us have been in a similar situation as Team 1. There’s a general idea of what we want to happen but a big lack of clarity. So, when clarity is lacking, what do we tend to do? Naturally, we’ll start filling in the gaps using assumptions and guesses. If there’s lack of clarity with how much we want to increase client retention, our assumption may be our leadership will only be expecting a little bit of an increase. For timing, an educated guess may be having the initial proposal for senior leadership to review by the end of the year. And as for the following year’s increase, I bet just another little increase should check the box.

When lack of clarity exists, we fill in the unknown with assumptions and biases as opposed to understanding the intent of what needs to be accomplished.  

For Team 2, yes there’s still plenty to uncover and follow-up questions that may be needed but they are armed with milestone dates, specific metrics they need to set their sights on, and intel on why clients are leaving. They’re working from a knowledge empowerment position where the team can focus on the game plan to achieve specific outcomes as opposed to working from ambiguity.

Now take a moment to think about your personal growth. Pick one area you’re looking to grow and ask yourself, am I giving myself the details like Team 1 gets or am I setting myself up for success much more effectively like Team 2? Am I giving specifics and providing internal clarity about what I expect from myself? The road to who you’re striving to become will need to be paved along the way with plenty of twists and turns, but one place to start is the clarity you’re giving yourself for your next step.

Let’s take for example striving for something better with our health and wellness. It may feel like a mountain to climb but focus on clarity of just one step. It doesn’t have to be a huge leap but just start with what you can do today. Provide yourself with clarity of what you expect from yourself today on what you plan to eat, how many steps you want to take, or the workout you may have planned. Start with details clarifying the first step, today.

Next, challenge yourself to provide clarity for a little more extended period. Take a week and push yourself to provide more clarity in what you expect from yourself in your health and wellness journey. Are you mapping out meals for the week? Do you have a workout schedule in place? Are you identifying time for reflection or personal time to keep mental health running strong? Clarity in what you expect from yourself helps pave a much clearer road ahead.

With clarity we avoid assumptions and guesswork and instead, empower ourselves to proactively shape our game plan to align with who we’re striving to become. One of the greatest gifts we can give is to keep the promises we make to ourselves. Be clear with the expectations and stay focused on carrying out these promises to ourselves.