What if Your ‘Lack of Clarity’ is Actually a Need for Courage?

You say you're "not clear" on next steps, but here's a hard question: Is confusion really the problem? Or is fear wearing a clever disguise?

After coaching hundreds of business owners, I've noticed something troubling about our relationship with clarity. We love to hide behind the phrase "I'm just not clear yet" when the real issue isn't uncertainty at all. It’s avoidance.

Let me paint you a picture from a real coaching session last week:

Client: "This isn't working for me, my team, or my business."

Now, here's what I could have said:
"What do you mean it isn't working? You must not have executed the method correctly."

Says me never in a coaching session. Instead, we slowed it down.

Coach: "Okay, this is good to know. Let's walk through this together to find a better solution for you, your team, and your business. What is the result you want to achieve, and can we work backward from there?"

When leaders say, “This isn’t working,” it’s usually a signal. It tells me something important needs more attention. Sometimes it’s how the work was applied. Sometimes it’s a blind spot. And sometimes, the leader is still becoming aware of where they are in the way.

That’s not a flaw. That’s leadership development.

So we go back to curiosity. What’s actually happening here? Did we miss something structurally, or is something deeper going on?

Here's what I've discovered over and over again:
Most of the time, it’s not a clarity issue. It’s a courage issue.

We say we need more clarity when what we actually need is the courage to act on what we already know. We say we're "figuring it out" when we're actually avoiding the hard decisions that require us to change, delegate, or admit we're the bottleneck.

Michael Gerber's E-Myth Revisited is a staple in my coaching practice for this very reason. It brings awareness to what is actually going on. I’ll share my screen, walk through the framework, and watch my clients' eyes widen, followed by a small nod. Oh…that’s me.

We start asking the harder questions:

Where is the bottleneck actually occurring? 

Am I doing the work because I love it, or because leading feels uncomfortable?

These are hard realities to admit. But when you have the courage to examine where you’re spending your time, that’s where growth happens.

As Gerber says, "Most reasons that small businesses don't work is because the people who own them do the work."

The Clarity vs. Courage Diagnostic
Before your next "I need more clarity" moment, ask yourself these five questions:

1. What decision am I avoiding right now? (Be brutally honest here.)

2. What would I do if failure wasn't an option?

3. Who on my team could handle this if I stepped back?

4. What am I afraid of losing if I make this change?

5. Am I the bottleneck, and do I secretly like being needed this much?

If you can answer these questions honestly, clarity isn’t the issue. Courage is.

And here’s the good news: Courage is far easier to build than clarity. 

Clarity feels elusive and mysterious and keeps you circling the same thoughts. Courage is a choice you make in the next five minutes and moves you forward. Clarity keeps you stuck in analysis paralysis. Courage moves you into action, even imperfect action.

As someone who follows Jesus Christ, I'm reminded that we're called to steward our gifts boldly, not hide them under a bushel of "figuring it out." God didn't give you a business to endlessly overthink—He gave it to you to lead courageously.

So take an honest look:

Where are you spending your time—Technician, Manager, or Entrepreneur? 

What percentages would you assign today?

Stop calling it confusion when it's really fear. Stop saying you need more information when what you need is more courage.

Your team isn’t waiting for you to have it all figured out. They’re waiting for you to lead.

The clarity you’re looking for is on the other side of the courage you’ve been avoiding.

And if you’re ready to stop carrying that alone, this is the work I do—helping leaders slow down, see clearly, and move forward with intention for themselves, their team, and their business.