Tuesday, April 28, 2009

SURGERY VS. BRUTALITY

Ever wondered about how to be honest with someone...or how honest to be?

A conversation with a business associate a couple of years ago stands out in my mind. This guy is one of the smartest, most engaging, and quite frankly, caring, people I know in business.

So it struck me when as somewhat incongruous when he mentioned his desire to be brutally honest with people he works with and is attempting to help. Now, I believe strongly in Authentic Leadership (for more on this see http://www.truenorthleaders.com/), so am convinced everyone needs to stay true to their own unique style as a leader.

However, let me ask you this. If someone described your manner of working as exhibiting brutality, would that be something you aspire to? Well, in order to be brutally honest, by definition, you need to start by being a brute don't you?

Maybe there's a different way. Surgically honest perhaps?

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