Over the past two decades, a significant shift has occurred in how managers interact with their teams. Before the latter part of the 1990s, leadership structures were essentially hierarchical; hence, communication was slow. The quest for organisations was to build certainty into their process, their ways of working, and decision-making. It was experience rather than data that drove decisions. Employees worked in silos, and top-down instructions to execute tasks were quite prevalent. From the days of the internet and through the digital age, the way of working has become faster—data is abundant, collaboration is real-time, and remote work is much more acceptable than in the past.

Any manager with a team has to play a leader's role when working with their people. Today's managers can no longer afford to lead with ambiguity or rely on outdated command-and-control methods.

Rapid shifts in technology, changing business models, and evolving societal expectations across different generations are driving businesses to respond in ways that are different from the past. 

Given these rapid shifts and changes, organisations need agility, innovation, and fast decision-making to help achieve success, especially in today's Human + AI world. There is so much disruption and change in this new world that employees may be left confused about how humans can cocreate with machines. So, managers must guide their teams with sufficient clarity.

There is a world of difference between a clear and decisive manager and a confused and inconsistent one.

Both these kinds of managers are way apart in terms of the type of impact and profound difference they can make on the performance of their teams. With clarity and proper guidance, the positive impact on the team will be profound and long-lasting.

The psychological impact of clarity in leadership

In the new Human + AI world, employees who understand their goals, responsibilities, and expectations well in a given work context will likely thrive. Leaders are expected to clarify and provide guidance to their employees. From a psychological perspective, this clarity reduces the cognitive load of the employees and enables them to focus on their core job tasks.

Managers may be tough, but if they are clear, they can create a condition where employees know what to expect. This approach tends to create an environment of psychological safety where employees feel secure. They will be motivated to take ownership of their work tasks. On the other hand, a manager who is inconsistent and ambiguous will create uncertainty, leading to inefficiency,  frustration, and stress. Therefore, employees expend unnecessary mental effort in such environments trying to interpret and make sense of the unclear instructions rather than execute their work effectively.

This unnecessary mental effort prevents people from performing at their best. In the absence of this unnecessary effort, employees can use their cognitive resources to solve productive problems rather than navigate confusion. In the digital age, where tasks are increasingly complex and require collaboration across virtual teams, clear guidance from leadership becomes even more critical. Somebody may be much more evolved in their ability to assess and navigate tasks without much guidance and may be able to work without the clarity that the manager provides. Managers in today's digital world need to be able to identify such employees and moderate their guidance accordingly.

Why lack of clarity results in disengagement

One of the most significant downsides of the lack of clarity in employees' minds is the need for rework. Correcting and redoing tasks frequently due to vague instructions can be frustrating and demoralising. When employees resort to constant rework due to managerial indecision, their work feels like a mindless toil rather than something meaningful. In the context of discussing self-determination theory and the traits of self-determined people, it is suggested that they are most motivated when they feel competent, autonomous, and have a sense of belongingness in their roles (Cherry, K, 2024).

Further motivation erodes when employees sense they are wasting their time in unproductive cycles of corrections and revisions. Over time, they may develop learned helplessness (Seligman & Maier, 1976¹), a psychological condition in which they stop taking initiative because they believe their efforts will always lead to uncertain and unwelcome outcomes. Instead of engaging in problem-solving, they will adopt a passive approach—waiting for explicit directions and avoiding risks.

How digital-age leaders can achieve clarity

Given the fast-paced nature of work in the digital world, managers today must embrace a leadership style rooted in clarity, decisiveness, and flexibility. Below are some valuable guidelines.

1. Be direct but not abrasive. Good leaders do not micromanage or instil fear; instead, they focus on setting clear goals, offering constructive, actionable feedback, communicating the vision of their organisation, and holding people accountable without ambiguity.

2. Reduce unwanted ambiguity by simplifying instructions. A large part of communication today happens through virtual platforms in a digital and interconnected globalizsd world. Any ambiguity leads to delays and errors. Hence, simple, precise, and clear instructions are the way for the manager to proceed.

3. Encourage ownership and innovation. Employees make decisions confidently when they understand expectations and know why things are done the way they are. This is crucial in an era when teams should be encouraged to self-manage and innovate.

4. Minimise confusion and related downside costs. Unclear leadership action wastes time, leads to confusion, and drains motivation. This can lead to mistakes, poor outcomes, and associated costs. Clarity in guidance should be a top priority to prevent disengagement and frustration.

5. Recognise positive outcomes. Give positive strokes as and when good outcomes and the right effort are evident, and they are great ways to motivate and engage employees' performance.

6. Encourage employees to upskill or reskill. Given the rapid technological change and evolving practices in every industry vertical, managers must encourage their teams to upskill or reskill as needed. This will remove any anxiety and prepare them for job shifts rather than face job loss.

An ending note

In today's digital organisations, managers must deliberately move away from old-school and hierarchical leadership frameworks and mindsets. They should adopt a model prioritising clarity, guidance, decisiveness, and empowerment. A challenging but straightforward and unambiguous manager will enable efficiency, engagement, and a sense of purpose. A confused leader, on the other hand, creates stress, unnecessary wastage, rework, and disengagement.

On the way forward, leaders who bring clarity will build high-performing and motivated teams, while those who remain ambiguous will struggle in the fast-moving digital world.

The digital age rewards those who lead with purpose and precision. Managers should reflect on whether they are providing clarity or creating confusion among the people they lead and are responsible for.

References:

1. Seligman, M. P & Maier, S F. (1976). Learned Helplessness: Theory and Evidence,  Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol 105, No 1, 3-46