Your Most Important Job? Defining Reality for Your Team

When you have a diverse team of people with different skills and abilities who are all accomplished in their chosen fields, they will likely see the world differently. (This is a feature, not a bug!) Imagine asking your sales leader, head of production, and controller to review your company’s financial statements. Will they agree on where to invest time and money to improve the company’s results?

The sales leader sees the need for growth. They could suggest investment in lead generation or sales salaries. The head of production sees opportunities for greater efficiency and to make more from what we have. The controller focuses on the balance sheet, thinking of ways to get paid more quickly.

They’re all looking at the same numbers, the same reality, right? Wrong. They’re looking at the same data, but each tells a different story about what it means. And honestly? All their stories might have valid points.

As the leader, one of your most crucial – and often overlooked – jobs is to define reality. You need to be the one to look at the data, listen to the different stories swirling around, and then intentionally choose or create the shared story that will help your team move forward together.

Without this shared story, this common definition of “what is,” your team gets stuck. They either waste energy fighting over whose story is “right,” or they pull in different directions, each chasing their own version of what needs to happen.

Let’s slow down and look at those three steps more closely:

1. Pause and look at the data (from your vantage point): 

Before you react or jump into a meeting, take a breath. Look at the information yourself. You don’t need to be an expert on every report, but you do need to form your own initial take. What does this data point – a project slowdown, a key employee leaving, a surge in creative team hours – mean from the whole company perspective? What are the potential upsides and downsides you see? Give yourself time to think before you wade into the discussion. This pause is critical.

2. Actively listen to their stories: 

Now, engage your team. But don’t just listen for agreement or disagreement with your view. Listen with curiosity to understand the story each person is telling about the data. Why does the sales lead see urgency for growth? What specific inefficiency is the delivery head worried about? What’s driving the financial concern? You’re not just gathering opinions; you’re gathering perspectives that enrich your own understanding and reveal how they see the world. You might hear something crucial you missed (“Oh, I didn’t think about that implication.”).

3. Choose or Create the Story That Serves:

Armed with the data and the various stories; you lead. Articulate a clear narrative acknowledging the valid points you’ve heard but setting the direction. What story does your team need right now? One that rallies them? One that challenges them? One that focuses their efforts? The goal isn’t manipulation; it’s clarity. You’re creating the common ground, the shared understanding of reality that allows everyone to move forward together and productively.

When your team operates from a shared set of assumptions about the situation, achieving significant goals becomes much, much easier. Creating that shared reality isn’t a soft skill; it’s fundamental to effective leadership.

Where does your team need a clearer, shared reality right now? Pick one area – maybe it’s about a specific client, a project’s status, or a resource allocation challenge.

This week, consciously practice these three steps: Pause and interpret the data yourself, actively listen to the stories your team members are telling about it, and then intentionally craft and communicate the story that will best serve the team’s focus and forward motion.

Hit reply and tell me what changed as you did that!