considered a problem. Everyone else had already concluded that the aggressive style each of them showed was the reason the company couldn’t make any decisions. “I don’t think either of them is really sick,” the CEO confided in me. “I think they just don’t want to deal with all the touchy-feely stuff you make people talk about.” I nodded and joked

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We avoid tough conversations, including giving honest, productive feedback. Some leaders attributed this to a lack of courage, others to a lack of skills, and, shockingly, more than half talked about a cultural norm of “nice and polite” that’s leveraged as an excuse to avoid tough conversations. Whatever the reason, there was saturation across the

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Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Most of us are familiar with situations where people are unwilling or afraid to present unpleasant truths. In many cases, who can blame them? The unspoken rule in all too many companies is: We don’t want to see anything negative, even if it is true; we like our rose-colored glasses. Ignoring facts,

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