Anyone else hopelessly hooked on Paradise? So there's this moment. Not a spoiler. But maybe a second cousin.
Where catastrophe is imminent. And the president reads the speech he's been handed. Designed to inspire confidence and calm in the American people.
He gets up and walks away.
Then he freezes, pivots, and returns.
He demands the cameras roll once again.
This time he speaks unscripted.
The American people deserve to know the truth. So they can decide for themselves.
Are we in a catastrophe?
Not sure. Don't know who the arbiter is.
But without a doubt, we're in something.
And we need to talk about how we're communicating.
I don't wanna discuss authenticity.
That poor deceased horse needs a moment.
I DO wanna talk about the importance of saying REAL sh*t.
Look, there are guardrails. There's compliance and legal and trade secrets. I'm not suggesting we carelessly rip open the floodgates.
But I AM suggesting it's time to move them to half mast…
Leaders. It's time to stop fabricating total confidence and enthusiasm in moments where the truth is? We're not totally sure.
Vision matters. Enthusiasm matters. Keep them.
But stop pretending they're the whole story.
Tell them the vision. How you chose it. Why you're excited.
And then tell them where you're hedging. Where you're learning. Where you're running an experiment you don't know the answer to yet. Where you need their inputs and insights.
And then actually invite the conversation.
Let your team show you the blind spots. The better ways. The missed opportunities you couldn't see from where you were sitting.
Make it collaborative.
It's time to stop singing the praises of hitting earnings when those earnings were achieved through headcount reductions.
Hit the number? Great. Celebrate it. Teams need to feel they're making progress.
But don't gloss over the painful parts. When you do, people fail to feel seen or respected.
Honor the contributions of the teams let go. Acknowledge what they brought.
Honor the projects that got shut down. Some of them taught you something real. Helped you activate new and essential muscles.
And make space for what people are carrying. The survivors' guilt. The anxiety about what might be coming next. Don’t pretend there won't be more hard parts.
There will be.
Pretending otherwise erodes trust.
This is how we build and earn the trust of our teams. Which we need unconditionally to move through this moment of…something.
Related: Real Change Starts Small: Leadership Actions That Fix Overload and Inaction