Most organizations don’t struggle with execution.
They struggle with sense-making.
Work slows down not because teams are unskilled, but because the “strategy” they’re trying to follow is actually a list of tasks dressed up as direction.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
If your team can’t explain why they’re doing the work — you don’t have strategy. You have instructions.
Let’s talk about how to fix that.
The Test: Can everyone explain the why?
A real strategy passes one simple test:
If you left the room, could your team explain the reason behind the work?
Not the deliverables.
Not the timeline.
Not the talking points.
The why.
If the answer is hesitation or “uh… let me check,” the strategy isn’t clear — it’s fragile.
Ask your team to explain the strategy in one sentence. If it takes a paragraph, it’s not strategy.
The Gap: Directives ≠ Strategy
If someone asks:
“Why are we focusing on managers instead of sending an all-staff email?”
And leadership answers with:
🗣 “Because that’s what was decided.”
🗣 “Because leadership wants it.”
🗣 “Because that’s how we’ve always done it.”
That’s not strategy.
That’s preference disguised as planning.
Strategic intent must be grounded in logic that travels, not politics that collapses under pressure.
The Definition: What strategy actually is
A real strategy is:
✔️ Clear enough to explain
✔️ Compelling enough to defend
✔️ Consistent enough to travel without you
If the reasoning can’t move through the organization without you shepherding it, it isn’t a strategy — it’s a hostage situation.
Your strategy should survive being forwarded without context.
The Example: What strong strategy sounds like
Here’s clarity in action:
“We’re focusing on managers because data shows employees trust information from their direct supervisor 3x more than corporate channels.
If we want behavior change — not just awareness — we have to activate the voices people actually listen to.”
That’s strategy:
rooted in evidence, tied to the outcome, and defensible under scrutiny.
If your reasoning doesn’t sound like this yet, that’s the work.
The Result: What clarity unlocks
When teams understand the why, three things happen immediately:
They make better decisions in real time
They defend the work instead of escalating every question
They show alignment instead of compliance
Clarity makes teams autonomous.
Ambiguity makes teams dependent.
Best Practices for Building Strategic Communication
1. Document the why
Not just the actions — the reasoning behind the actions.
If your strategy doesn’t have an explicit rationale, it’s not repeatable.
2. Cascade context, not slides
Most “cascades” fail because teams share artifacts, not understanding.
Explain how you think — not just what you built.
3. Repeat until bored
Communication doesn’t land when you say it.
It lands when you’re tired of saying it.
4. Ask for the echo
If your team can’t explain it back, the strategy isn’t clear yet.
Echo > alignment.
Alignment means they nodded.
Echo means they understand.
The Reality Check
If you have to be in every meeting to clarify the “why,” you haven’t cascaded the strategy — you’ve hoarded it.
Real strategy is portable.
It travels.
It holds.
It defends itself.
If only one person can explain it, it isn’t a strategy. It’s a dependency.
The One Question to Ask Yourself
Could your team explain the “why” without you in the room?
If not, it’s time to clarify.
And if you don’t know where to start, that’s exactly what we do here — every Saturday — inside The Clarity Line.
Until next time,
Ana
Clarity isn’t corporate - it’s human.