Clarity is the New Kindness

You don't have to have all the answers. You just have to know the next step and have the courage to say it out loud. In this episode, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young dig into Chapter 6 of _Likable Leader_, making the case that clarity isn't just a communication skill; it's one of the most profound acts of care a leader can offer their team. Because ambiguity doesn't just slow people down. It exhausts them, puts them in survival mode, and quietly chips away at everything you've built together. In this episode, you'll learn: Why unclear leaders – even kind, charismatic, encouraging ones – are perceived as exhausting to work for How clarity creates psychological safety and actually lightens your team's mental load Why a clear mistake is often better than unclear leadership and how humility makes that work The difference between leadership clarity with control and leadership clarity without control (and why Andy Stanley's volunteer story is the perfect example) What imprecise spiritual language is actually costing your church and why we use it when we're trying to be liked How moving faster than your organization can sustain destroys clarity and why stopping temporarily might be the wisest leadership move you make all year Why leaders raised in unstable environments often become crisis leaders and what it costs their teams when they stay there Plus Jason gets honest about a resource he rushed to print that came out with missing page numbers, Jonathan reflects on what it felt like to panic on the basketball court when no one knew which basket to shoot for, and both of them make the case that the genius is usually already in the room... your job is to define the problem clearly enough to let it out.