How to build team clarity and focus on top priorities

In a recent Rubica poll 67% of people said their number 1 team working challenge right now was getting clarity on what to prioritise.

Anchoring people back to a shared ‘vision’, your ‘purpose’ and ‘why you are focusing on this’ is a highly stabilising practice (particularly during times of uncertainty or change), as it enables a team to understand what the priority is (right now) and to become really focused on it. Here we share some ideas on where to start…

Tip 1: Building team understanding on the top priority

Keep it simple when setting priorities and avoid over-complicating the process. This will help to create useful conversations and encourage participation from the whole team. To do this, try using a simple matrix  (see Fig.1 as an example) during a 10-15-minute team check-in (either virtually or face-to-face).  The matrix will help to focus discussions, by highlighting the priorities that are easiest to implement and have the highest impact – helping people to decide what to prioritise for the week ahead or deprioritise for the time.

Fig. 1

Top tip

Go through the prioritisation process early in team meetings rather than towards the end. This helps a team make choices early and quickly so that work is moved forward in relation to shared goals vs individual projects.

Want more tips on how to build team clarity and focus on top priorities? Download our free toolkit:  ‘How to build team clarity and focus on top priorities’.