Make the truth welcome

Career · Little Light original

The meeting ends with everyone nodding. Later, someone mentions the problem in the corridor: the deadline was never realistic, the customer is confused, the quiet colleague saw the risk a week ago. Leadership can look successful while the truth is taking another route. If you have influence, one of your most useful ambitions is to make difficult information easier to bring to you. Notice what happens when someone interrupts a comfortable story. Do you ask a question, or make them regret speaking? The next honest conversation is being shaped by your response to this one. You will not always enjoy what you hear. You can still thank the person, investigate the concern, and return with an answer. A team does not need you to know everything in advance. It needs a reason to believe that telling you matters.

Little Light