{"id":5150,"date":"2017-06-09T04:45:52","date_gmt":"2017-06-09T09:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/2010\/02\/standing-for-the-greatness-of-others.html"},"modified":"2017-06-09T04:45:52","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T09:45:52","slug":"leaders-speak-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/leaders-speak-up\/","title":{"rendered":"When Leaders Have to Speak Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the vice president of the consultancy Gap International, it is Ilene Muething\u2019s<\/a> job to challenge and confront some of the world\u2019s most abrasive and powerful CEOs.
\n
\nIlene is a friend and has done some consulting for my company. I once asked her how she worked up the courage to speak truth to the powerful. She said it was difficult at first, but over time it got easier.
\n<\/p>\n

3 Truths to Work up Your Courage<\/h3>\n

What helped Muething was that she reminded herself of three simple truths to work up the courage to speak up.<\/p>\n

1. What I have to say is important.<\/h4>\n

If you are struggling with whether or not to say something weighty, this is generally a clue that you need to speak up. You are seeing or sensing something important that needs to be said about what is not working and needs to be fixed.<\/p>\n

2. They need this criticism to get to the next level.<\/h4>\n

If they could see it on their own, they would already have made the change. That they aren\u2019t changing it indicates a blind spot. So they need my eyes and my voice to get to the next level.<\/p>\n

3. They can handle it.<\/h4>\n

Too often, we see others as fragile. We are afraid that if we speak up they will shatter into 1,000 little pieces. Or that they will fly off the handle.
\nBut this is usually not true. We need to think of people as giants. They can handle it, especially if we take care with our words and \u201cspeak the truth in love\u201d (cf. Ephesians 4:15).<\/p>\n

Confrontation in Your Dreams<\/h3>\n

I asked her this question because there aren\u2019t too many normal people who find it easy to confront others at work.
\nAccording to a survey<\/a> of British workers by the Chartered Management Institute, two-thirds of workers are seriously stressed when they know a difficult conversation is coming up.
\nIn fact, 11 percent get persistent nightmares and awful sleep leading up to any office confrontation.
\nAnd I am part of that 11 percent. I am conflictaphobic, to make a word. When conflict is what\u2019s called for, there\u2019s always an internal debate in my head.
\n\u201cSurely, this isn\u2019t that big of a deal. Maybe I should just let it slide,\u201d vs. \u201cSomeone needs to tell her. I would want to know if I were in that situation, right?\u201d And on it goes.<\/p>\n

Keeping Your Head Down<\/h3>\n

As a result, especially early in my career, I would keep my real opinions to myself. I didn\u2019t want to get in trouble. I thought that if I just did what was expected of me and kept my mouth shut, I would get ahead.
\nThis was a pretty good strategy for a while. But it didn\u2019t really work once people were counting on me to lead. I had my reasons for avoiding conflict:<\/p>\n