The Cost of Misaligned Momentum: Why Clarity is a Leadership Discipline

We often think of clarity as finding the right words or the right strategy. But in my experience, clarity is rarely about knowing; it’s about admitting.

Most of the time, when leaders say they’re “unclear,” they aren’t actually confused. They’re avoiding.

• We know the relationship isn’t working.

• We know the project is misaligned.

• We know we’re dodging the truth because saying it out loud would mean consequences, disappointing someone, ending something, or burning a bridge.

So instead, we hide behind complexity. More data. Another meeting. A few more weeks to “figure it out.”

But clarity isn’t found in the spreadsheets or the brainstorming sessions. Clarity is a discipline, one that requires trusting your intuition more than your intellect.

Why Leaders Avoid Clarity

Because clarity demands consequences.

• The courage to say, “This isn’t working.”

• The honesty to admit, “This isn’t where I want to go.”

• The discipline to stop hiding behind being indispensable.

Clarity isn’t just a business tool. It’s a spiritual discipline.

misaligned, blurry image

My Lesson in Misaligned Momentum

There was a stretch in my career when I told myself I was being “strategic,” but what I was really doing was avoiding clarity.

Every new idea from leadership? I said yes. Every broken process? I patched it up. I became the fixer, the one who could spin order out of chaos. From the outside, it looked like momentum. From the inside, it was something else entirely.

Because every time I swooped in to keep things afloat, I was trading away the chance to build something sustainable. My own growth plans sat idle, collecting dust while I poured energy into a cycle that kept repeating itself. I wasn’t creating progress—I was propping up dysfunction.

The truth finally landed when the brand hit yet another standstill. I realized I had a choice: keep being the reliable problem-solver (and stay stuck), or step back, risk disappointing people, and carve out the space to actually build something better.

That moment wasn’t inspiring or glamorous. It didn’t feel like clarity descending; it felt like a gut punch. But that’s what clarity really is: the relief that comes from finally telling yourself the truth. It's a gut punch. But that’s what clarity feels like: the relief of no longer lying to yourself.

Tools to Practice Clarity

If you’ve been telling yourself you’re “unclear,” try these instead:

1. The Five-Minute Gut Check Ask yourself: If I trusted myself completely, what would I do next?  Write down whatever comes up.

2. The Out-Loud Test Say the avoided truth out loud. Notice how your body reacts; that reaction is data.

3. The Boundary Swap For every “yes” you give someone else, ask: What am I saying no to in my own vision?
   

🔑 Want to hear my business breakthrough story?

🎧 Listen to E127: Clarity is a Spiritual Discipline (Not Just a Strategy) on Rabbit, Rabbit for more behind-the-scenes moments where avoiding the truth cost me momentum and how I finally broke the pattern.