Love 'Em Enough To Tell 'Em The Truth!

You have a team member in your organization that is difficult to work with and constantly rubs others the wrong way. So, what do you do?

      1.   You pull the entire team together and bring up the behavior generally. You give recommendations on how we should all work better together.

Bottom line, the person to whom you were referring, had no idea you meant them. And the rest of the team leaves wondering who or even what you were talking about.

2.   You constantly overlook this behavior time after time because surely “they didn’t mean to come across that way.”

Everyone else on the team wonders why you allow this to continue and loses respect for your ability to lead.

3.   You just avoid them.  “Out of sight, out of mind.”

Obviously we know this doesn’t work either.

None of these three address the issue. The problem is still there. Then after months or even years of frustration, you’ve finally had enough. And…they’re fired. It’s a total shock to them and they have no idea what they did wrong. They find another job, only to continue the same behavior, and the cycle repeats.

So the question is, whose fault is it?  Who are you really protecting?  Them or you?

Why is confrontation so dreaded?  Is it because you don’t want to hurt their feelings?

You think being honest with them hurts? Not being honest with them hurts much more in the long run. Why let issues continue year after year, that perhaps one conversation could fix?  By dealing with it early in the game when the issue is small, you prevent much greater problems down the road.

Sure the truth hurts….but only for a little while.  And when the truth is received, it can also bring tremendous growth. Honesty and truth are vital components to growth.

Is confrontation hard?  Sure it is. Otherwise, everyone would do it. But good leaders do what’s right, even if it’s difficult.

If you really care about the people around you, then be honest with them and tell them the truth.

To Be Continued….

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.  Ephesians 4:15, 25 NLT

Trust is built only when truth is told. – John C. Maxwell