🧠 The Truth About Truth-Telling in Leadership

LIP #96

Jul 16, 2025

Young children naturally tell the truth reflexively - it's automatic for them. However, adults have been trained differently:

• Lying has become reflexive while telling the truth requires deliberate effort
• We constantly manage our appearance through selective sharing
• We speak at 300 words/minute while thinking at 3,000-4,000 words/minute

This creates organizational silence where we filter thoughts to avoid criticism. The hardest leadership decisions involve risk-taking with incomplete information, requiring us to:

✓ Unlearn catastrophizing negative outcomes
✓ Seek team judgment before rushing to action
✓ Remember: Truth-seeking speed directly correlates with decision-making ability