“Tired, tired with nothing, tired with everything, tired with the world’s weight he had never chosen to bear.”
―
F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Well. I admit. I get in trouble with some of the ‘radical transparency people sometimes because I hesitate to agree that the most effective organization is an organization in which everyone knows everything.
Yes. I do believe every person is capable of leadership.
Yes. I believe every person actually does lead (contextually & situationally).
Yes. I believe if you want to encourage individual leadership within decision making you should, and have to, be as transparent from a leadership perspective as possible.
No. I do not believe you tell everyone everything.
Yes. This is where i get sideways with a lot people.
Here is a truth that many people do not like to hear.
This may sound obvious, but leaders do not always tell the truth.
This may not sound obvious, but leaders do this on purpose because not always telling the truth is sometimes, truthfully, the best & right thing to do. This leader can be in business or in the government or, frankly, any situation.
Now. I am not suggesting they always lie nor am I suggesting they do not know what the truth is <or how to tell it>, but I am suggesting that there are times & situations that we, the everyday schmuck, shouldn’t hear the truth.
Therein lies a leader’s uncomfortable relationship with truth and truth telling.
Leaders are often demanded to manage the narrative <not control it>.
Managing the narrative can be based on a variety of solid rationale points which may piss us every day schmucks off later on <when we inevitably learn the whole truth>, but within the context of how and what is happening the leader has actually done the right, and best, thing by not telling the whole truth.
Sorry.
That is the truth.
Look. Leaders have a shitload of responsibilities, but let me highlight two with regard to truth and truth telling:
– All people.
You lead all people not just one group or one department. You end up being very careful in what words you decide to attach to whatever you want to talk about.
No. This is not political correctness.
This is managing the overall effectiveness of the larger group. If a word, or group of words, disenfranchises a group from the rest of the organization or greater whole not only does the whole suffer but the smaller group can receive undeserved negativity.
All people.
The burden of responsibility that a leader bears is to all, not just parts of all.
– Moderation.
This may seem counter intuitive, but leaders spend much much more time tamping down excitement <to make it realistic> and tamping out fear <to make it less debilitating> then they do creating energy and ferve.
That doesn’t mean that they do not inspire the masses … just that the majority of their relationship with those they lead is more about rational and not emotional – the responsibility to temper emotions and emotional responses.
Moderation.
The burden of responsibility that a leader bears is to mitigate emotional responses.
So. These are responsibilities.
These are actually reflective of behavior intended for the greater good and not to hide something or any nefarious reason. It is solely in the best interest of the greater whole. And, yes, while we everyday schmucks bitch & moan about no one should be making decisions for us or a desire <or right> to being part of the decision … we really do not.
Mostly because while we all think we can be a leader … 99% of us cannot.
To be clear. The obligation to tell the truth is heightened depending on what one is proposing, yet, it always gets balanced by the obligation for the greater good. This is the truth telling balancing act, a high wire act most of the time, every leader walks — every day.
Which leads me to wanting to share a couple more truths. Uncomfortable truths.
Truth 1. Sometimes a leader gets it wrong.
Good intentions or not sometimes what you didn’t say, or even what you did say, will come back and bite you in the ass. And there isn’t shit you can do to explain why you did what you did. People tell you how to do your job. People call you a liar. People call you stupid. People call & tell you … well … a shitload of things that make you feel like shit.
But you know what? You are a leader. You forge on and do better the next time.
But. Let me be clear. Just because you get it wrong doesn’t mean you will automatically tell the whole truth every time from that point on. Leaders always … always … look at what they say in a contextual fashion. I will not tell the whole truth if emotions are running high and will incense to a state of irrational behavior. I will not tell the whole truth if it will drive further despair <when hope is needed>.
Truth 2. Even when you get it right … you can never tell anyone why you did it.
You can’t tell people that emotion makes rational people irrational and “I didn’t tell you everything so that emotions could ease”. I stubbornly didn’t say something, agree with something or use a particular word or phrase because, well, I wasn’t sure you would attack some other group of people <take out your emotions on someone>.
You are a leader. You carry the burden of what you did and take solace in the positive outcomes when you do get it right.
That’s it. This topic has been on my mind for quite some time.
Mostly because I believe we should think about this more often as we view our leaders <and see the uncomfortable amount of shit that our leaders get piled on them>. Partially because I believe in an autonomous democratized decision making organization model. Totally because business mostly exists in a hierarchy model and for the most part we need to manage the existence in which we live in.
Now. This is certainly not written to applaud lying. I do not condone blatant lying. But I do believe there is a time and a place to not tell the whole truth.
That is the burden a leader bears.
Now. Far far too many people think they either are a leader, as smart as a leader or could be a leader.
Harsh truth? The majority of people cannot be a <good> leader. And. Not everyone can or should become a leader.
It takes a certain type of skill, lots of character & courage and … well … the ability to say what needs to be said when it needs to be said. Sometimes what needs to be said is the whole truth and sometimes what needs to be said is selective truth.
This is the uncomfortable truth leaders know as … well … truth.
I imagine some o the thoughts I shared today will make some people uncomfortable let alone vehemently disagree with. That’s okay. All I ever ask is you think about it and maybe see this as an uncomfortable truth.
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another thing I wrote about the Burden of Leadership
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