Disruption Calls for Honesty, But Tempts Us to Be Heroes

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Leaders routinely face expected and unexpected challenges. Sometimes, decisions a leader makes cause needed disruption. Changes in technology, strategic shifts, mergers and acquisitions, or organizational restructuring often make people uneasy, even if the changes are exciting.

Leaders sometimes adopt a superhero persona and make reassuring statements, thinking they help people focus and quell anxieties. Unfortunately, this can make leaders appear as caricatures, disconnected from the realities within their organization. Quelling discomfort is a natural instinct and may seem like a good idea. However, it interrupts the leader's ability to use emotion as a source of information and an avenue to understand how others may be feeling. It increases the distance between the leader and everyone else.???

In my over two decades of advising CEOs, I’ve identified common “hero” tendencies and actions leaders can use rather than mask anxieties—both their own and others.

Common reactions to disruption?

• Concealing, denying, or minimizing mistakes
• Silencing or minimizing others’ trepidation?
• Denying one’s own fears
• Refusal to say, “I don’t know”
• Reluctance to delegate?
• Looking for blame before cause

?Of course, most of us do these things sometimes. No one likes to be wrong or feel embarrassed. But we know that mistakes will happen, we will be disrupted, and sometimes, we will make changes that disrupt ourselves and others. We might as well get good at it, or at least better. Leaders who help others learn to navigate when the going gets rough have far less need to don a hero cape and are less burdened and lonely in a crisis.?

First, be honest about the situation.

Role models for honesty when the news isn’t good include Warren Buffet (his annual report is a model of unvarnished truth) and Frank Blake’s managing of the hacking of The Home Depot’s IT systems when he was CEO. Buffett and Blake abide by the enduring principle of honesty.?

?Second, when something is hard, say it’s hard.

Fears don’t resolve by edict. When discomfort is normalized, people don’t need to spend so much energy wrestling with their reactions. Leaders can express confidence in their teams' and their own ability to manage what is happening, even when there are many unknowns. This balance of transparency and confidence can strengthen team resilience without sugarcoating.?

?Third, be honest about yourself.

Great leaders know they need and deserve support, not just for their own sake. Leaders who are overly disclosing put the focus on themselves and are a distraction. Support for leaders in crisis helps them process their own reactions and ask questions they cannot ask their team. Expert support and advice help them synthesize their thoughts, feelings, and instincts to act honestly, calmly, and confidently.??

Effective leadership in rough water is about being present—not in a hero's costume but as your own capable human, leading other capable humans.?

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