"The Emergence of Clarity"

In complex work, we often tell ourselves:

But more often than not, it’s the other way around.

We move first, and clarity emerges through movement.

I used to think it was my job to create clarity for the team.
To show up to meetings with clean frameworks, polished thinking, and answers that made the ambiguity go away.

It felt responsible. and comfortable.

But what I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, is that when I overprepare, I leave no space for others to think with me.

I shift the conversation from exploration to approval.

And in doing so, I kill the very conditions under which clarity could arise.

Ralph Stacey might say:

That’s not an abstract idea. You’ve seen it too.

• A vague idea becomes brilliant because someone challenged it.
• A tension finally resolves because someone dared to name it.
• A solution no one saw coming appears, not from a genius plan, but from a messy conversation where everyone stayed in the room long enough.

So maybe the work of leadership isn’t to reduce uncertainty.​
Maybe it’s to help the team stay with it — long enough for meaning to emerge.

And maybe clarity isn’t something you make alone and deliver to the group.
Maybe it’s something you co-create by staying in the mess together.

If there’s a way out of the bargain, If there’s a way to break the control loop, If there’s a way to make it safe to speak, It’s probably this:

Until next time,
Dermot
​The Messy Middle

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