Are You Being Brutally Honest, or Just Brutal?

Sometimes, people who claim that they are just being brutally honest with others, are actually just being brutal. It’s as if they are attempting to justify their assessment of the situation by demeaning other team members and employees.

Truth, or reality is rarely brutal in and of itself, but some people tend to share unpleasant truth in a brutal way. Now the truth may be hard to face, and it may require taking some unpleasant actions; but a leader should be able to handle communicating unpleasant realities with confidence and some degree of compassion.

Keep these suggestions in mind when having to face and share hard realities:

1.      Recheck your facts and assessment of the situation. Make sure that the hard truth you are sharing is actually true.

2.      Focus on the truth being shared, not the character of the individuals being affected. Focus on the realities being faced and the decisions that must be made and actions taken.

3.      If appropriate, offer alternatives or assistance to those being negatively affected by the decisions being made.

4.      Prepare yourself for negative, even angry reactions.

When you are being brutally honest, focus more on being honest and less on being brutal.