When your team thinks about what work they have to get done, what do they see: Renoir or Kandinsky?

A new friend, Paul, was the top leader in a turn-around situation. He knew exactly what needed to be done. He could see it. And so, he carefully painted the picture for his team, down to the details. Feeling confident, he left the meeting only to be intercepted by a peer.

“You’re crazy,” his teammate said.

“What are you talking about,” Paul said. “It’s as clear as day what we have to get done.”

“You think you’ve painted a Renoir, don’t you? The grapes in the still life are so clear you could pluck them from the canvas and eat them,” the man said. “But the team is seeing nothing but Kandinsky. Your painting of what needs to be done is nothing but an abstract. It’s a mess and has no definition. You’re no closer to leading change than if you had no plan at all – because your team can’t see it.”

Ambiguity is the enemy of change.

Today, ask more questions like, “What does success look like to you?”

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Composition X by Wassily Kandinsky