Leadership Communication: Truth and Love vs. Harsh and Hollow
I want to share with you a quote that a mentor of mine once shared with me…
“Speak the truth in love. Without truth, the message is hollow… without love, the truth is spoken in a harsh way.”
This reminds me of a situation where I had to let a former employee go. This person had done something clearly pre-meditated and irresponsible.
In this situation, I had 3 choices.
- I could have flown off the handle and given this person a piece of my mind” as they say…
- I could have chosen not to confront them at all, for fear that they wouldn’t like me.
- I could calmly and clearly communicate the fact that what this person had done was unacceptable and would result in termination.
I chose option 3.
As I was speaking to this employee, I was shocked at what happened next.
After informing this individual why they would no longer be employed, they looked me in the eyes, and said, “I was wrong… I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I did it anyway. I’m sorry.”
And then, before leaving, the individual reached out and shook my hand!
I’ve seen this individual many times in the years since that day and there is still a mutual respect present.
I’m convinced that had I lost my cool that day and spoken harshly, or even decided not to confront at all, that the situation would have ended much differently, and not for the better.
Now, I realize that all employment terminations don’t happen exactly like this.
However, it IS a good reminder that you should never compromise your morals and commitment to excellence because you’re worried that people won’t “like” you.
In fact, you’ll find that in leadership, it’s very likely that at some point, you will be disliked, and even hated. So, think of those tough situations as opportunities to:
“Speak the truth in love. Without truth, the message is hollow… without love, the truth is spoken in a harsh way.”
