21 Powerful Tips on What Is Most Important Lencioni

"What is most important right now?" is the fifth of Patrick Lencioni's six critical questions for creating organisational clarity. In The Advantage, Lencioni argues that every leadership team must identify a single, qualitative, time-bound priority that rallies the entire organisation around a shared focus. He calls this the thematic goal, and it is the answer to the question that separates aligned organisations from scattered ones.

The word "now" is critical. This is not a mission statement or a long-term strategic plan. It is a temporary rallying cry that captures the single most important thing the organisation must accomplish in the next three to twelve months. Lencioni observed across decades of consulting that most organisations suffer not from a lack of intelligence or strategy but from a lack of alignment around what matters most at any given time.

When a leadership team cannot answer this question in a single sentence that every member agrees on, the organisation has a clarity problem. Departments pursue their own priorities. Resources are spread too thin. Meetings lack focus. And employees at every level are left guessing about where to direct their energy. The thematic goal solves this by giving everyone an unambiguous sense of direction.

Below are 21 powerful tips for understanding and implementing the "what is most important right now" question on your leadership team. For a complete overview of all six questions, see our Six Questions of Clarity summary. To discuss how a facilitated offsite could help your team answer this question, reach out at jonno@consultclarity.org.

1. One Thing Must Be Most Important

Lencioni's starting point is blunt: if everything is important, nothing is. Every organisation, if it wants to create alignment and focus, must have a single top priority within a given period of time. Even if there are multiple worthy goals, ultimately one must sit at the very top. The discipline of choosing one thing is what separates healthy organisations from unhealthy ones.

This does not mean the organisation ignores everything else. It means that when priorities conflict, when resources must be allocated, and when the team's time and energy are limited, the thematic goal wins. It provides the clarity that allows leaders to say no to distractions and yes to what matters most.

2. The Thematic Goal Must Be Singular

A thematic goal is, by definition, singular. One thing has to be most important. Lencioni is clear that teams cannot have three thematic goals or even two. They can have one. The constraint is intentional: it forces the leadership team to make difficult trade-offs and have honest conversations about what truly matters for this season of organisational life.

When teams resist this constraint and insist on multiple top priorities, they have not yet done the hard work of prioritisation. They are avoiding the discomfort of saying no to worthy initiatives. But that discomfort is exactly what alignment requires. The team must choose, commit, and rally together.

3. The Thematic Goal Must Be Qualitative

One of the most common mistakes teams make is attaching specific numbers to the thematic goal. "Increase revenue by 15%" is not a thematic goal. It is a metric. Lencioni insists that the thematic goal should be qualitative, meaning it describes a direction or aspiration rather than a numerical target. A qualitative goal like "Restore Revenue to Sustainable Levels" is far more effective as a rallying cry.

The reason is practical: when a number is attached, only the departments directly connected to that metric feel ownership. A qualitative goal invites every department to ask, "How can we contribute to this?" Numbers belong in the defining objectives and standard operating objectives that sit beneath the thematic goal, not in the goal itself.

4. The Thematic Goal Must Be Temporary

Unlike a mission statement, which is permanent, the thematic goal is temporary and time-bound. It captures a season of organisational life, typically three to twelve months. Anything shorter than three months feels like a fire drill. Anything longer than twelve invites procrastination and scepticism about whether the goal will endure.

The temporary nature of the thematic goal is a feature, not a limitation. It keeps the organisation responsive to changing conditions and prevents the staleness that comes from pursuing the same priority indefinitely. When the thematic goal is achieved or the time frame expires, the leadership team reconvenes and asks the question again: "What is most important right now?"

5. The Thematic Goal Must Be Shared

Every member of the leadership team must take collective responsibility for the thematic goal, even if the nature of the goal seems to fall within one or two leaders' regular areas of ownership. On a cohesive team, leaders are not there simply to represent the departments they lead. They are there to solve problems that stand in the way of achieving success for the whole organisation.

Shared ownership prevents the thematic goal from becoming one leader's problem while everyone else focuses on their own department. When every leader feels personally responsible for the team's top priority, the organisation moves with the speed and alignment that individual departmental effort cannot achieve. For more on this concept, see our Advantage summary.

6. Define the Thematic Goal with One Question

The best way to identify the thematic goal is to ask the leadership team: "If we accomplished only one thing during the next three to twelve months, what would it be?" This question forces prioritisation and eliminates the temptation to create a list of goals. It demands that the team choose the single thing that would make the biggest difference.

The answer should be something the team would be devastated to fail at during this period. If the team cannot articulate such a priority, they have not yet achieved the clarity that organisational health requires. The conversation itself, including the debate and disagreement it provokes, is as valuable as the answer.

7. Support the Thematic Goal with Defining Objectives

Beneath the thematic goal sit four to six defining objectives. These are the temporary, qualitative components that serve as the building blocks required to achieve the thematic goal. They provide specificity so that the rallying cry is not merely a slogan but a call to action with clear categories of work.

For example, if the thematic goal is "Launch Successfully into the Education Market," the defining objectives might include "Build Education Sales Capability," "Develop Education-Specific Product Features," and "Establish Key Education Partnerships." Each defining objective tells a functional area exactly how they can contribute to the shared priority.

8. Maintain Standard Operating Objectives

Below the defining objectives sit the standard operating objectives: the ongoing priorities and metrics that any leadership team must maintain to keep the organisation running. These are the things that keep the lights on, such as revenue targets, client satisfaction scores, employee engagement levels, and operational efficiency measures.

Standard operating objectives do not change from period to period. They represent the baseline performance the organisation must sustain while pursuing its thematic goal. The distinction is important: the thematic goal is temporary and focused. Standard operating objectives are permanent and broad. Both are tracked, but the thematic goal gets priority attention.

9. Fit Everything on One Page

Lencioni insists that the thematic goal, defining objectives, and standard operating objectives must fit on a single sheet of paper. This is the organisational playbook, the one-page scorecard that becomes the reference document for the leadership team. The constraint is not arbitrary. It forces the team to be ruthless about what truly matters.

If you cannot fit your top priorities on one page, you have too many top priorities. The playbook is reviewed at the beginning of every weekly tactical meeting, with the team assigning stoplight colours to each item. This simple discipline keeps the thematic goal visible and ensures the team never loses sight of what matters most.

10. Review the Thematic Goal Weekly

The thematic goal is not something the team sets and forgets. It must be reviewed at the start of every weekly tactical meeting. The team goes through the one-page scorecard, assigning red, yellow, or green status to each defining objective and standard operating objective. This takes only five to ten minutes but keeps the priority front and centre.

Regular review prevents the slow drift that happens when a goal is set once and then buried in competing demands. It also creates accountability: when a defining objective turns red, the team can immediately identify it as a discussion topic and allocate time to address it. For more on Lencioni's meeting structure, see our Death by Meeting summary.

11. The Thematic Goal Answers Question Five

"What is most important right now?" is question five of Lencioni's six critical questions for organisational clarity. It sits after "Why do we exist?" (core purpose), "How do we behave?" (core values), "What do we do?" (business definition), and "How will we succeed?" (strategic anchors). It sits before "Who must do what?" (roles and responsibilities).

The sequencing matters. The thematic goal builds on the answers to the preceding four questions. It translates long-term strategic direction into short-term action. Without clarity on purpose, values, business definition, and strategy, the thematic goal lacks the context it needs to be meaningful. For a deep dive on the question that follows, see our Who Must Do What guide.

12. Sometimes a Standard Operating Objective Becomes the Thematic Goal

Occasionally, an ongoing area of responsibility deteriorates to the point where it demands singular focus. Revenue, for example, is always a standard operating objective. But if revenue has declined to crisis levels, "Restore Revenue to Sustainable Levels" might become the thematic goal for a season. The distinction is that it becomes the single priority for a defined time frame rather than just another line item on the scorecard.

This flexibility is part of what makes the framework practical. It acknowledges that organisations face different challenges at different times and that the thematic goal must reflect current reality, not aspirational ideals. The framework adapts to the organisation's needs while maintaining the discipline of singular focus.

13. Do Not Confuse the Thematic Goal with a Mission Statement

A mission statement describes why the organisation exists. It is permanent. A thematic goal describes what the organisation must achieve in the next three to twelve months. It is temporary. Confusing the two leads to either a thematic goal that is too vague ("Be the best in our industry") or a mission statement that is too narrow ("Launch Product X by Q3").

Lencioni's framework requires both. The mission statement answers "Why do we exist?" and provides enduring direction. The thematic goal answers "What is most important right now?" and provides seasonal focus. Together, they give the organisation both long-term purpose and short-term clarity. For our guide on the mission question, see Why Do We Exist.

14. The Thematic Goal Eliminates Silos

Silos form when each department pursues its own priorities without a unifying focus. The thematic goal breaks silos by giving every department a shared priority that transcends functional boundaries. When the entire leadership team is collectively responsible for the same outcome, cross-functional collaboration becomes a necessity rather than an aspiration.

Lencioni explored this dynamic in detail in Silos, Politics and Turf Wars, where he introduced the thematic goal concept as the primary tool for eliminating organisational silos. The insight is simple: silos are not caused by bad people. They are caused by a lack of a common goal. Give a team a shared priority and silos begin to dissolve. For more, see our Silos summary.

15. Use the Thematic Goal to Drive Meeting Agendas

In Lencioni's meeting framework, the weekly tactical meeting begins with each team member reporting their two or three key priorities for the week, followed by a review of the one-page scorecard. The thematic goal and its defining objectives drive the discussion. Items that are red or yellow on the scorecard become the meeting's agenda, ensuring the team spends its limited time on what matters most.

This approach eliminates the common problem of meetings that wander through topics of varying importance with no connection to the team's actual priorities. When the thematic goal drives the agenda, every minute of every meeting is aligned with the organisation's most important work.

16. The Thematic Goal Requires Honest Debate

Choosing the right thematic goal requires the team to engage in productive conflict. Each leader will naturally advocate for their department's priorities. The CEO or team leader must facilitate a conversation where all perspectives are heard, debated honestly, and ultimately resolved into a single shared priority that everyone can commit to.

If the team avoids this debate and simply accepts the leader's preference without genuine discussion, the resulting thematic goal will lack the buy-in it needs to drive real alignment. Lencioni's model requires that people weigh in before they buy in. The quality of the debate directly determines the quality of the commitment.

17. Cascade the Thematic Goal to the Entire Organisation

Once the leadership team has agreed on the thematic goal, every leader must communicate it clearly and consistently to their direct reports. Those direct reports must then cascade it to their teams, and so on throughout the organisation. By the time the message reaches front-line employees, every person should be able to articulate what the organisation considers most important right now.

Cascading communication is the bridge between leadership clarity and organisational alignment. Without it, the thematic goal remains an executive exercise with no impact on daily operations. With it, the thematic goal becomes the lens through which every employee makes decisions about where to invest their time and energy.

18. Revisit the Thematic Goal Quarterly

While the thematic goal typically lasts three to twelve months, the leadership team should formally revisit it at every quarterly offsite. Has the goal been achieved? Is it still the right priority? Have circumstances changed enough to warrant a new thematic goal? These quarterly checkpoints ensure the team's focus remains relevant and responsive.

Lencioni recommends that leadership teams take one to two days each quarter to step back from the business and gain perspective. Reviewing the thematic goal is one of the primary purposes of this offsite. Doing it four times a year gives the team enough time to make progress between reviews while keeping the goal fresh and current.

19. The Thematic Goal Gives Permission to Say No

One of the most valuable functions of the thematic goal is the permission it gives leaders to decline worthy but non-essential activities. When a new initiative, project, or request arises that does not align with the thematic goal, the leader can say, "That is a great idea, but it does not serve our current top priority. Let us revisit it when our thematic goal changes."

Without this permission structure, leaders face constant pressure to say yes to everything, resulting in the scattered focus and resource dilution that undermines organisational effectiveness. The thematic goal provides the clarity and courage to protect the team's most important work from the tyranny of competing demands.

20. Avoid Organisation ADD

Lencioni describes a condition he calls "organisation ADD," where a team has so many top priorities that none receives adequate focus. The result is that nothing gets done exceptionally well, and the organisation drifts from initiative to initiative without ever completing or sustaining any of them. The thematic goal is the antidote to this condition.

Organisation ADD is not caused by a lack of good ideas. Most leadership teams have more good ideas than they can execute. The discipline is not in generating ideas but in choosing which ones to pursue right now and which ones to set aside. The thematic goal provides the framework for making this choice deliberately rather than defaulting to whatever feels most urgent in the moment.

21. The Question Bridges Strategy and Execution

"What is most important right now?" is the bridge between long-term strategic direction and short-term daily execution. The first four questions of Lencioni's framework establish why the organisation exists, how it behaves, what it does, and how it will succeed. The fifth question translates all of that into a concrete, time-bound priority that the team can execute against immediately.

Without this bridge, strategy remains abstract and execution remains reactive. The thematic goal gives every leader a clear connection between the organisation's enduring purpose and this week's work. It is the mechanism by which clarity becomes action and alignment becomes results.

What to Do Next

Gather your leadership team and ask the question: "If we accomplished only one thing during the next six months, what would it be?" Let the debate happen honestly. Once you have agreement, identify four to six defining objectives that break the thematic goal into actionable categories. Put everything on one page and review it at the start of every team meeting.

If you want help facilitating this conversation as part of a leadership team offsite, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a thematic goal in Lencioni's framework?

A thematic goal is a single, qualitative, temporary, time-bound priority that the entire leadership team shares. It answers the question "What is most important right now?" and typically lasts three to twelve months. It is supported by four to six defining objectives and sits above the standard operating objectives.

Why must the thematic goal be qualitative?

When numbers are attached to the thematic goal, only the departments directly connected to that metric feel ownership. A qualitative goal invites every department to contribute. Numbers belong in the defining objectives beneath the thematic goal, not in the goal itself.

How long should a thematic goal last?

Typically three to twelve months. Anything shorter feels like a fire drill. Anything longer invites procrastination. The leadership team should formally review the thematic goal at quarterly offsites to determine whether it is still the right priority.

What are defining objectives?

Defining objectives are four to six temporary, qualitative components that serve as the building blocks for achieving the thematic goal. They provide specificity so that each functional area understands how to contribute to the shared priority.

What are standard operating objectives?

Standard operating objectives are ongoing priorities and metrics that the leadership team must maintain regardless of the thematic goal. They represent baseline performance such as revenue, client satisfaction, and employee engagement. They do not change from period to period.

How does the thematic goal eliminate silos?

Silos form when departments pursue separate priorities. The thematic goal gives every department a shared priority that transcends functional boundaries. When the entire leadership team takes collective ownership of one goal, cross-functional collaboration becomes necessary rather than optional.

About the Author

Jonno White is a Brisbane-based leadership consultant, bestselling author, and Certified Working Genius Facilitator specialising in organisational health. His book, Step Up or Step Out, has sold over 10,000 copies globally and equips leaders with practical strategies for difficult conversations and conflict resolution.

Jonno hosts The Leadership Conversations Podcast, reaching listeners in over 150 countries across 230+ episodes. He works with CEOs, school principals, and executive teams across Australia, the USA, UK, Singapore, Canada, and India, delivering keynotes, workshops, executive team offsites, and facilitated strategic planning sessions using Patrick Lencioni's frameworks.

As a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, Jonno helps teams build both relational health and operational effectiveness. To discuss how Jonno can help your leadership team answer Lencioni's six critical questions, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

21 Powerful Lessons on How Do We Behave Lencioni

While "What is most important right now?" defines your team's seasonal focus, "How do we behave?" defines the values that guide how you pursue that focus. Our comprehensive guide covers 21 powerful lessons on defining core values, aspirational values, and permission-to-play values using Lencioni's framework.

If clarifying your team's priorities through the thematic goal has you thinking about organisational clarity more broadly, the values guide is a natural next step.

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