The room learns whether honesty is safe by watching what happens to the first person who uses it.

LEADERSHIP

WHAT THIS MEANS

The first person to say something uncomfortable is running an experiment on behalf of everyone watching. What happens to them sets the price of honesty for months, and the room reads the result far more carefully than any stated open-door policy. One bad reaction can close a group for a long time.

When someone tells you something you did not want to hear, respond to the content and thank them for the delivery. Everyone is watching that exchange, not the policy.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

How did you respond when someone last told you an unwelcome truth?

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