The Critical Difference Between Honesty and Negativity
"But he isn't wearing anything at all!"
"The Emperor's New Clothes' by Hans Christian Anderson was written in 1837 but it has many applications for organizations today.
In this tale, a vain Emperor takes so much pride in his appearance that two thieves swindle him by making "clothes" so good that only the Emperor can see them. These "clothes" have to be very expensive to be good enough for the Emperor.
The truth is that these con artists make no clothes at all.
The Emperor buys them, of course, and wears them in public. And the crooks make everyone else believe the clothes are invisible to them. When the emperor struts around in these new "clothes" - which of course only he can 'see' - no one dares to say that they do not see any clothes on him for fear that they will be seen as stupid.
This Emperor walks around stark naked. And no one says anything.
Until one day, a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" Not one adult would observe the obvious and state the clear facts.
This tale illustrates what happens in many organizations today. Think about it.
- The Emperor gets swindled and he ignores the obvious - because he got info from highly paid experts.
- Everyone could see that the emperor was obviously buck naked but they doubted themselves because both the Emperor and the highly paid experts told them they were stupid if they questioned what they had been told was the truth.
- The highly paid experts knew that their info was false and that the Emperor would look stupid - but they did it anyway - for the money. And it was a lot of money.
- No one wanted to be perceived as negative or stupid for pointing out what everyone could see.
- The Emperor, the thieves, the noblemen and the people all knew the truth - but they remained silent.
- The problem was so obvious to everyone that a child could see it - and the child dared to blurt out the truth because he had no ego and nothing to lose.
THE MORAL: there's a critical difference between honesty and negativity. In this tale, the child was honest and smart. Everyone else in the story was negative and stupid.
There was nothing negative or stupid about pointing out the Emperor's lack of clothing. In fact, this child was a leader and the ultimate team-player. In fact, we recognize the child's simple honesty and wisdom.
And you'd think this story has a happy ending, and that the Emperor would have come to his senses, right? But here's how the tale ended:
"'But he hasn't got anything on!' the whole town cried out at last. The Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, 'This procession has got to go on.' So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn't there at all."
This happens in many organizations today. No one wants to be perceived as negative, even when telling the truth would be better for all involved. And so, problems persist, money is wasted, prideful idiots remain in charge, no one dares to speak the truth and once-successful organizations fail.
Leadership is the ability to see and point out the obvious, sometimes difficult and uncomfortable things even at great personal cost, for the benefit of all involved. It requires courage. It requires telling the truth when others refuse to tell it. Leaders aren't afraid to take risks or make waves. Will YOU tell the truth when it counts?
