Make Winning Visible

Mar 1

By Tyler Head

A lesson from my kitchen on organizational clarity.

Recently, at home, I was prepping burgers for the grill when my two-year-old pulled up her stool to the counter to help. It was beautiful. I love being with her.

I was planning to use the griddle and make smash burgers — rolling the ground beef into tight rounds to press onto the hot surface.

She didn’t know that. And I didn’t tell her.

I was just glad she was helping. She just wanted to be part of it.

So for every carefully formed round I placed on the tray, she picked it up and dismantled it — pressing, smashing, pulling it apart. Helping, nonetheless.

She wasn’t wrong. She wasn’t unhelpful. She just didn’t know where we were headed.

I had the vision in my head. She had energy and desire.

What we lacked wasn’t commitment. It was Shared Purpose.

We were in the same kitchen, working on the same meal — but without a shared understanding of what we were building.

And here’s what I noticed: It wasn’t just that she didn’t know the end result. She didn’t know what success looked like in each step along the way.

She didn’t know:

That the burgers needed to stay rounded until they hit the griddle.
That caramelized onions and melted pepper jack were coming next.
That the buns would crisp and the potatoes were already soaking, waiting to roast.

She couldn’t see the bigger picture. And because she couldn’t see it, she couldn’t locate herself within it.

Her engagement faded— not because she lacked interest or capacity — but because she didn’t know how she could meaningfully contribute.

…also, she’s two.

The principle remains: she didn’t know what winning would look like for that meal.

This is where we often find ourselves as organizations.

We carry a clear picture:

Revenue targets.
Strategic initiatives.
Long-term vision.

But that clarity often lives in our heads, in spreadsheets, or behind closed doors.

Meanwhile, our teams pull up their stools.

They bring energy. Effort. Skill. Capacity.

They want to participate. They want to bring vision into reality.

But if all that’s public is “We’re trying to get to $10 million in revenue,” without clarity on what success looks like this quarter—and on their role's contribution—they struggle to place themselves within the larger mission.

And when people can’t see where they fit, they either guess… or slowly disengage.

Effort increases.
Activity increases.
But alignment doesn’t.

The problem isn’t the vision.
And it isn’t the willingness.

The challenge is this: we are asking people to contribute to something they cannot clearly see.

Organizational clarity requires three things:

Shared Purpose — What are we building together?
Roles & Responsibilities — What do I own within that mission?
A Visible Scoreboard — How will we know we’re winning?

Without these, urgency becomes the decision-maker. People interpret instead of align. Morale erodes — not because people don’t care, but because they can’t see if effort moves what matters most.

People don’t burn out only from work. They burn out from unclear work — from working hard without knowing if it counts.

Shared Purpose is not a slogan.

It is a simple, clear, and visible understanding of:

What we can build together that we cannot apart.
How we will know we’re winning.
How each team — and each individual — moves the needle.

One of the simplest ways to operationalize Shared Purpose is through a visible scoreboard — a shared, visible expression of what we are building together.

Clarity doesn’t make the work easier.

It makes responsibility clearer. And clarity doesn’t belong to one title.

It isn’t solely the responsibility of the owner, the president, or the CEO.

But it does require someone willing to raise the question:

Can all people contributing clearly see what winning looks like?

Not just at the executive level. Not just annually. But in their role. In this season. In the here and now.

If the answer is uncertain, don’t assign blame. Start the conversation.

Because alignment doesn’t happen by accident.
And flourishing rarely grows in ambiguity.

So here’s the challenge:

Before asking for more effort, more speed, or better execution — pause.

Ask yourself if winning is visible to everyone contributing.

And if it isn’t, be the one willing to bring the question to the table.