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Truth to power
- 1. Truth to Power Leo J. Bottary Learning Leaders Symposium November 21, 2008
- 2. Speaking Truth to Power – A Timeless Topic Sophocles, 442 B.C., Antigone Shakespeare, 1598, King Henry IV, Part 2 “Don‟t shoot the messenger!”
- 3. Truth to Power Connotations •Liberals preaching to conservatives •Human rights and social justice •Religious context
- 4. Our Premise… “A culture of candor in which people are encouraged to speak out to a leadership that is willing to listen is fundamental to sustainable corporate success.” - James O’Toole
- 5. Leaders We’ve studied what makes great leaders.
- 6. Followers “The leader who thinks he leads and has no one following, is only taking a walk.” - John Maxwell
- 7. Leaders & Followers What makes a good follower?
- 8. What Makes A Good Follower? Understand, Support, and Work for the Leader’s Vision Help the Leader to Succeed Provide Open, Honest and Accurate Information Positive and Can Do Attitude Learning Attitude - Dr. Adalat Khan
- 9. A Story of Leaders & Followers “The most important characteristic may be a willingness to tell the truth. In a world of growing complexity, leaders are increasingly dependent on their subordinates for good information, whether the leaders want to hear it or not. Followers who tell the truth, and leaders who listen to it, are an unbeatable combination.” - Warren Bennis
- 10. It’s Not Always Easy.
- 11. What Does Truth To Power Mean? “After a string of box-office flops, Mr. (Samuel) Goldwyn called his staff together and told them: „I want you to tell me exactly what's wrong with me and MGM, even if it means losing your job.‟” - Warren Bennis
- 12. Discussion Items 1. This whole business of speaking truth to power is not about you; it’s about your duty as a senior public servant. 2. Truth, in this context, is a complicated business. 3. There is a time and a place to speak up. 4. You need to know how to speak up – verbally and in writing. You need to develop your skills in giving tough advice. 5. Finally, you have to learn how to recognize when the argument is over. - James R. Mitchell - March 27, 2007
- 13. Nobody? Or…
- 14. Trusted Advisor?
- 15. Did Amin Have A Point? Ceremonial Stance or Persuasive Argument? Is it enough to make the point? Or do you have to be convincing? Have you met your obligation to your leadership, your colleagues, and your company by simply raising the issue? *Discussion*
- 16. Speaking Truth to Power Successfully Peter Shaw Be… Don’t Be… Prepared Pessimistic Personal Peeved Pertinent Persecuted Patient Possessive Persistent Proud
- 17. Final Thoughts 1. Trust yourself 2. Consider it your responsibility to share your professional judgment 3. Know your audience 4. Prepare by understanding your point and anticipating any questions you may receive 5. Make your point succinctly 6. Do so in the broader interest, not self interest 7. Persuade – don’t take ceremonial positions 8. Be patient - let the information sink in 9. Better coming from you than from the outside 10. Trust your leadership
- 18. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” - Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
- 19. Truth to Power Leo J. Bottary Thank you very much!
Hinweis der Redaktion
- Speaking truth to power is perhaps the oldest and, certainly, one of the most difficult of ethical challenges because to do so entails personal danger. From the day humans descended from our ape-like ancestors until only very recently, tribal leaders, clan elders, kings, and just plain bosses were men who ruled by force. To question their decisions was to risk death.A major theme running through Sophocles' fourth-century B.C. play Antigone is the perils of speaking truth to power. Indeed, the play is the source of the modern cliché, "shooting the messenger." Early in the action, straws are drawn among King Creon's guards to choose the unlucky one who must tell his majesty that his niece, and soon to be daughter-in-law, Antigone, not only has defied a recent edict he has proclaimed, but that the populace is rallying to her support. The losing guard swallows hard, recognizing that "nobody likes the bringer of bad news." Least of all Creon, who greets the news by first questioning the guard's loyalty and, then, in a terrifying display of what the Greeks called hubris (the arrogance of power), he proclaims that, because he's king, the god's are on his side. Creon refuses to listen to Antigone's reasons for defying his edict-she is a woman, after all, and that would be too much of a blow to his male ego-and he refuses to hear what his people have to say, believing that to listen to them would be taken as a sign of weakness and, hence, a threat to his power. Finally, Creon's son, Haemon, musters the courage to tell his father that "Your presence frightens any common man from saying things you would not care to hear."
- For example, the editors of a Quaker on-line journal titled, Speak Truth toPower, say that the phrase is taken from a charge given to EighteenthCentury Friends, exhorting them to be fearless in expressing their truth to thepowerful.o An Islamic source, going back even farther, says “Prophet Muhammad saidthat the best form of jihad is to speak truth to power”.o And a Jewish source says “We are commanded by Torah to speak truth topower”.
- Model the way; Inspire a shared vision; challenge the process, enable others to act; encourage the heartLevel 5 Leadership – Will & Humility
- John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold over 13 million books. His organizations have trained more than 2 million leaders worldwide. Dr. Maxwell is the founder of INJOY, Maximum Impact, ISS and EQUIP, an international leadership development organization working to help leaders. It is involved with leaders from more than 80 nations. Its mission is “to see effective Christian leaders fulfill the Great Commission in every nation”Every year he speaks to Fortune 500 companies, international government leaders, and organizations as diverse as the United States Military Academy at West Point and the National Football League. A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week best-selling author, Maxwell was one of 25 authors and artists named to Amazon.com's 10th Anniversary Hall of Fame. Three of his books, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader have each sold over a million copies.Maxwell serves on the Board of Trustees at Indiana Wesleyan University and has a building named after him there, the Maxwell Business Center.Maxwell has also been awarded the number 1 rank on the international Leadership Gurus survey for two years in a row. The “Leadership Gurus 30” award, by Global Gurus International who identifies the top Leadership professionals in the world by merit and public voting.
- Spiritual life and leadership coach Carolyn D. Townes wrote a terrific post called Good Followers Make Great Leaders. In it, she quotes the writings of Dr. Adalat Khan who notes the qualities followers should have to be of greatest assistance to the success of leaders.
- Warren Bennis is Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California and the author of more than a dozen books on the character and challenge of contemporary leadership. This essay, which originally appeared in the New York Times, is excerpted from his book, An Invented Life: Reflections on Leadership and Change, (1993), Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., reprinted with permission.This article is reprinted from the Summer 1994 issue of USC Business.
- 1 It’s about the facts, and it can be about ideas, but not about you, and notyour ideas. It’s not about opinions, or your right to an opinion. (I hate to tell you this,but nobody other than your spouse or your best friend cares about youropinions; we all, however, care about your professional judgment.)2. As Isaid, we’re not talking about revealed truth.We’re talking about: what you know (i.e., the facts);__________________________________________________________________________________Speaking Truth to Power March 27, 20074 about the lessons you have learned from experience; about your best judgment about what to do, in light of the facts and allthat experience.It is not your duty as an executive to trade your “truth” with that of the politiciansor to substitute your agenda, or your beliefs, for those of the government.Ministers know what they believe in. They know what they want to achieve, and itis not your business to argue with them over that.For you there is no “truth”, in the sense the Quakers meant by the term. There isno revealed wisdom for people in government – there are only the facts, as bestwe know them, and the professional judgment and experience you bring to thefacts.3. There is a chain of command, and as an executive, you’re part of it. Youneed to respect it – speak up to your boss, not to the Deputy directly. It also means accepting that your advice may not make it all the way upthe chain of command.4. This can be a matter of simple tact, or careful expression in amemorandum, or simply that of showing respect to the boss even whileyou’re disagreeing with him or her. Remember – the higher your credibility as a person and as a manager,the easier it will be to speak up and to have your advice considered andaccepted.5. Don’t forget, this is a team game. Your advice is one input among many,whether you’re a Director or a Deputy. Take the opportunity to be heard, and then live with the decision. If youkeep on fighting after the issue has been decided, you will find that youare left out of the discussion next time, because people will see you assomeone who cannot separate themselves from their point of view.