You may have heard the phrase ‘speaking truth to power’ a few times over the past month or two. The resigning UK Ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, warned colleagues to “speak truth to power” and “challenge muddled thinking” in an unprecedentedly blunt departing email in January. And over the pond, we have President Trump sacking those whose message he does not like to hear, accusing some of betrayal and blaming ‘fake news’ for stories that challenge his position and view.

So what is speaking truth to power?

I most like the Quaker Movement precis, from where I understand this phenomenon has come:

“It’s about speaking what one believes to be true, especially something that might offend or criticise those in authority with the power to retaliate, despite the negative consequences that might result.”

Speaking truth to power isn’t new – Sir Thomas Moore did it at the cost of his life when he spoke against King Henry VIII. And Martin Luther King Jr. lost his freedom, and eventually his life.

In organisational life

I regularly discuss with leaders their desire to avoid being surrounded by ‘yes’ people. Consistently they want to encourage those who ‘rattle the cage’ and stay close to the reality of what is actually going on. So how do you navigate the challenge of sharing the truth with these leaders – because even though they say it’s what they need, it might not be what they want to hear!

Firstly, be aware that speaking truth to power can be seen as an attack, and the general response is fight or flight, so you could see the following reactions:

Switching off and not engaging in the conversation
Criticising you, challenging you back
Passive aggressive – smiling during your presentation, then attacking you after you leave the room
Anger – you are not as important as me, how dare you act as though you are, who do you think you are!

It clearly depends on the context of news you’re sharing and the type of leader you will be delivering the truth to, but here are my recommendations to maximise success:

Ensure you are in an objective frame of mind so that you can deliver your message without excess emotion or frustration.
Offer them a little bit of control. This can be as easy as walking into the leader’s office and saying, “Is now a good time to talk?”. Let them decide.
Share that there’s some bad news – “I have some bad news about the Johnson account.” Don’t downplay the situation.
Clearly describe the problem and its implications.
Make sure the leader understands what you are talking about!
Factually deliver the evidence.

Once you’ve presented the evidence, it’s wise to offer the leader a bit more control: “That’s the situation. I have a few thoughts on some possible solutions, is that something you want to hear right now?”. And my golden piece of advice is to provide the leader with multiple solutions, it provides them with options.

Once the solutions are presented and a resolution is agreed, re-confirm that with the leader, as this helps to restore their confidence.

And finally, you may have noticed that up to now we haven’t given the root cause of what went wrong… there’s a reason for that. You can offer the cause if you’re asked for it, but often when you bring bad news, the root cause really doesn’t matter; it doesn’t help to solve the problem.

Only by positioning your feedback and comments in a genuinely helpful manner, will your leader/manager’s brain choose to get productively involved and you survive the experience!

And if YOU choose not to speak up, YOU own that decision, not your leader/manager. Go for it!

I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS.

If you would like to learn more about how to deliver the truth to leaders, please do get in touch.

Contact us:
Call: +44 (0)7881 915657
Email: claire@downtoearth-development.co.uk

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