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Section 3 of 6
Pathway 3: Providing clarity

Why providing clarity is important for heads of service

As heads of service managing small teams, providing clarity ensures consistent, high-quality practice by setting clear expectations and improving decision-making. It reduces miscommunication, boosts morale, and helps your staff work efficiently.

During times of change, clarity keeps teams focused and adaptable, supporting aligned and effective service delivery.

Providing clarity as a head of service

Improve strategic decision-making

Clarity helps leaders and teams align with the service's vision and goals, ensuring effective resource use and faster, consistent actions.

Increase staff engagement and morale

Staff are more engaged when clear expectations:

  • show how their work contributes to the value they bring to those they help 
  • reduce ambiguity and boost job satisfaction and ownership

Encourage a culture of growth and inclusion

Proving clarity helps teams to learn continuously, while heads of service who prioritise anti-oppressive practices create an inclusive environment that values diversity and encourages contribution.

Form stronger relationships and influence

Clear communication strengthens internal and external relationships. Ethical influence helps heads of service guide strategic discussions, ensuring actions align with the best outcomes for children and families. A lack of clarity can lead to decreased accountability, fragmented collaboration, and increased errors, all of which negatively impact service quality and outcomes.

Over to you

  • Are the decision-making processes at different levels of your organisation well-defined and roles and responsibilities clear, or is there room for improvement? 
  • How clear are you in communicating the importance of anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practices and consistently embedding them in the day-to-day work of your teams?

You can use the ‘Why providing clarity is important as a head of service’ section in your 4C leadership capability framework action plan for this activity.

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The resources have been developed by Frontline in collaboration with DfE.
Published: 30 January 2025
Last updated: 30 January 2025