Play It Straight - The One Year Mini for Leaders

Even my prophets and priests are like that. . . . They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. Jeremiah 8:10-11

I was managing a small business for absentee owners who had made some unwise financial decisions. Cash flow had dried up. Sales were on the rise, but we couldn’t meet our obligations.

My bosses wanted me to keep a happy face and lie about our dire straits as they tried to finagle their way out of the mess they had created, but I couldn’t lie to my staff.

I called them together and laid it out in plain English. Paychecks might be late. Benefits such as coffee and free sodas were over. It wasn’t pretty.

I also told them that we could work hard and pull off a miracle despite the albatross around our necks. And they agreed.

Since I was up-front with them and didn’t give “assurances of peace when there [was] no peace,” the staff was willing to go the extra miles needed to get the business back on track—and we did it.

Always give it to them straight.