Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM April 2018 | Page 22

The Business of Leadership Courage - By: Bonnie Benkula, BSHCA, MBA Certified Coach, Speaker, Trainer The John Maxwell TEAM The Leaven Exchange [email protected] Triumph Over The Fear of Truth Many believe that there is a crisis in “truth telling” in the corporate world. Some replace truth with the term “strategy” in the best places and with “manipulation” in the worst. According to author Mindy Mackenzie, a speaker and advisor for many Fortune 500 companies who wrote the book, The Courage Solution: The Power of Truth Telling with your Boss, Peers and Team , there is a “crisis in the corporate world that is rooted in the lack of courage and truth telling.” The boss, the Board, the investors, want to hear the truth. They can take it. They have more pressure and accountabilities than you realize and need to full truth to make the right decisions. Get in sync with your superiors as quickly as you can by knowing the issues and being truthful about the solutions that are working and that are not working. Build relationships with your peers built on trust and support your team by leading with courage. Are people around you afraid to tell you the truth? Are you afraid to tell your superiors the truth? Always, tell others the truth, assuring you are providing actionable items to improve your outcomes. If the culture will not support the truth, you will need the courage to make some hard decisions for peace and happiness and to harness the courage to make the right decisions for your future. Fear will drive environments negatively so that all communication is on the surface and the bad habit of telling people only what we think they want to hear becomes the norm. How does fear become a driver of negative behavior? Fear gets in the way of truth when we become afraid of what others will think. When one fears the consequences of the truth or fears they will not be liked by others if they lay out the real deal. Fear of thinking, “What if the boss gets mad or I’m fired if I tell the truth?” is a common fear. Not a good life to live for long. The truth will set you free. Negative strategies occur such as telling half-truths, telling part of the truth or telling nothing at all to the point of pure avoidance of communication all together. Now fear of the truth coming out - joins the crowd. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – NELSON MANDELA Leaders must have courage to tell the truth to themselves and to others to thrive. Companies whose cultures are built on anything less than the truth will grow a fear environment and will not survive. Nothing destroys loyalty and respect more than an environment of distrust. John Maxwell, says that “truth is essential, and courage is the core of the leader’s heart.” He says when someone is willing to stand up or stand out and willing to allow their views to be known by others, they will become a positive influencer in other’s lives. Truth takes courage and sure there is risk. But courage provides security and courage builds confidence. 21 MOMENTUM / April 2018