Maybe they can’t handle the truth. Maybe you’re delivering the truth wrong.
Either way, we shouldn’t be scared of being truthful.
Honesty isn’t cruelty, but people love to confuse the two.
Say what needs to be said, and suddenly you’re “harsh.”
Difficult.
Too direct.
But avoiding the truth doesn’t make you a good person.
It just makes you passive.
If I care about someone’s growth, I’m going to tell them what they need to hear, even if it’s uncomfortable.
Sugarcoating doesn’t build great teams.
Clear, direct, well-intentioned feedback does.
Being clear doesn’t mean being cold.
But I’ve learned some people will take it that way anyway.
I’m not in the business of tearing people down.
But I’m also not in the business of holding back when the right thing to do is to speak up.
It’s not about being brutal.
It’s about being honest with respect and with purpose.
And if that’s hard for some people to swallow?
That’s their discomfort to sit with. Not mine.