All teams set out with great dreams, but few achieve great things. Why? The answer lies in the ability to empower your teams with maximum clarity. But clarity is a habit you need to cultivate, within yourself and across your teams. This is my three-pronged framework for ensuring clarity in the workplace so your teams can go from dreaming big dreams to achieving great things.

1. The Key Habit of
Highly Effective Teams
Justin Rosenstein
@rosenstein

2. Hi, I’m Justin Rosenstein, co-founder of Asana.
(but this deck isn't about Asana)
For a decade, I’ve been
obsessed with one urgent
question for every leader...

3. Why do some teams march in unison
and achieve big dreams…

4. while others waste time, get stressed,
and lose steam?

5. I’ve found that the answer is
CLARITY

6. CLARITY OF
PURPOSE
CLARITY OF
PLAN
CLARITY OF
RESPONSIBILITY
Highly effective teams get 3 things
from their leaders.

7. Clarity of PurposeClarity of Purpose
1. Highly effective leaders give their teams

8. To organize the world’s
information and make it
universally accessible
and useful
To give people the power
to share and make the
world more open
and connected
To help create an open
world — where everyone’s
at home and can belong,
anywhere
Today’s best-performing teams know why they exist
and what they are trying to achieve.
Ours is:
To help humanity thrive
by enabling all teams
to work together effortlessly

9. Ask yourself:
If we’re wildly
successful,
how will the world
be different?

10. It’s easy to forget purpose when everyone’s
working hard and in the weeds.

11. A leader’s job is to ground the team
in its purpose.

12. Focused on relating purpose to
customer feedback
Every week, we review
quotes from our customers
that remind us when we are
and when we’re not fulfilling
our purpose.
Look, we’re helping teams work together with
less effort!
Ouch! We need to adjust because we’re not meeting
our purpose for this guy.

13. Deliver software to…
An engineer writes
code to…
To help humanity thrive
by enabling all teams
to work together effortlessly
Clarity of Purpose
filters down to everything
your team does — even
writing a line of code.
Focused on relating purpose to
everyday tasks

14. With Clarity of Purpose, team
members see the importance
of their work — no matter how
small or mundane their task
might seem.

15. Does your team know:
Why your organization or project exists?
If you’re wildly successful, how the world will be different?
How your day-to-day activities relate to your purpose?
Are you providing Clarity of Purpose?

16. Clarity of Purpose shows your team why…
Next, Clarity of Plan will show them how.

17. Clarity of PurposeClarity of Plan
2. Highly effective leaders give their teams

18. Without Clarity of Plan:
Projects slip
past their
deadlines
Teams march
dutifully forward…
in the wrong
direction
Meetings end
with no clear
actions
1. 2. 3.

19. To achieve Clarity of Plan:
Start by creating a master strategy with
your team.
Purpose
Master Strategy

20. Master Strategy
The strategy articulates
the top-level pillars of how
you’ll fulfill your purpose.
Design Mobile Customer
Success

21. Ensure all teammates give
feedback and have access to
this master strategy.
Master Strategy

22. Master Strategy
Key Result
Purpose
Next, create key results you’ll be
tracking and working to achieve.
These are measurable goals to
be delivered by a specific date.
Key Result Key Result

23. Now you can map out the projects
and tasks that will drive your
key results.
Master Strategy
Key Result
Project
Task
Purpose
Key Result Key Result
Project Project Project Project Project
Task Task Task Task Task Task Task Task Task Task Task

24. Armed with Clarity of Plan,
your team will march confidently forward.
As you do, check in regularly on progress.
Celebrate successes, big and small.

25. But what happens
when things aren’t
going according
to plan?

26. Clarity!
Conduct a 5 Whys
1. Ask “Why?”
2. Then ask “Why?” of the answer you get.
3. Keep up the curiosity until you get to
the root problem, so you can address it
and get back on plan.
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?

27. Are you providing Clarity of Plan?
Does your team know:
What the master strategy is and how to help craft it?
How their tasks fit into the master strategy?
How to measure successes against your key results?
How to get to the root of the problem when things veer off course?

28. Clarity of Responsibility settles the who.
If Clarity of Purpose shows your team why…
And Clarity of Plan shows them how...

29. Clarity of Purpose
Clarity of
Responsibility
3. Highly effective leaders give their teams

30. Clarity of Responsibility happens when
you make one person responsible for
each piece of your team’s plan.

31. When everyone knows their
areas of responsibility — the places
they have autonomy — it eliminates
ambiguity, reduces politics, and
empowers team members to bring
their full motivation to work.

32. While only one person should hold
responsibility for a project, others can hold
responsibility for a task within it.
Remember: chaos starts when you make
two people responsible for the same thing.
Project
Task Task

33. Great leaders give Clarity
of Responsibility and then
actually hand it off...
Micromanages, meddles, and holds
tightly onto the controls
rather than handing over responsibility
and empowering the team

34. Instead, it’s OK to ask them for an
outcome and give them the space
and freedom to deliver it.
Then advise, coach, support, and
help them grow — which they’ll
really appreciate.
Focused on developing his
team through responsibility and
accountability

35. Ask yourself:
Which kind of
leader am I?

36. Does your team know:
The one person responsible for each piece of your plan?
What their individual areas of responsibility are?
That they have autonomy to figure out how to deliver an outcome?
Are you providing Clarity of Responsibility?

37. While the path to achieving
great things will always
be a challenge…

38. You can
maximize
your team’s
chance
for success.

39. If you keep in mind that…

40. As a leader your job is to empower
everyone around you with maximum
clarity.

41. Clarity of
PURPOSE RESPONSIBILITY
It’s the difference between having great
dreams and achieving great things.
PLAN

43. Want to send me feedback or questions?
I’m @rosenstein