There Is An Elephant In The Room
My honest initial response on the topic of speaking truth to power was avoidance. In my eyes this phrase triggers an image of someone screaming their personal truth at anyone that disagrees with them. James O’Toole’s article “Speaking Truth to Power: A White Paper,” [1] dislodged me from my high horse to my own personal realities of the risks and consequences of highlighting corporate missteps that compromise the overall integrity of the organization.
James O’Toole a distinguished professor of Business Ethics at the University of Denver, author of a number of books and articles [2] on confrontation of leadership, and transparency within the workplace. O’Toole conveys the reality that this is an age old issue of leaders who have deaf ears to their subordinates who “speak good sense.”[3] The author cites a number of modern corporations that exemplify the characteristics and consequences of hierarchical rigidity, while contrasting those with a culture of openness that encourages and demands tough challenging questions and “constructive dissent.”[4] It is leadership’s resistance to questioning “behavior-driving assumptions” that leads to “group think, a state of collective denial or self-deception.”[5] O’Toole, cites his co-author Warren Bennis’ notes on transparency and the creation of a “culture of candor, one in which followers are free to speak truth to power and leaders are willing to hear it,”[6] is the key to organizations remaining competitive and growing. It is interesting that this concept of corporate vulnerability is in stark contrast to the traditional leader who is “decisive, tough, take-charge men who quickly fire those who are not ‘team-players.’”[7] The remainder of the text provides examples of the risks and responsibilities of messengers, listeners, and organizations.
Jesus was the master of speaking truth to power. He skillfully confronted the religious leaders of the day, being fully aware of the cost. He graciously spoke the truth of people’s sin while inviting them into a life of freedom and hope. He empowered the women, slaves, and outcasts of every kind while challenging the accepted thinking of the day. I have this sense that there were times through levity he revealed hard truths similar to O’Toole’s “corporate fool.” [8] Jesus modeled, and the early church pursued a life, community of egalitarian openness, empowerment, and service. The disciples were often asking questions, and the women were allowed to do the same. Although Jesus desired obedience, it was not to be blind, rather a response to the love relationship.
If I had more time and space a study of the Beatitudes in light of speaking truth to power could be very interesting.
What does this have to do with my context?
I am perplexed in how my church context, though they say all the right things, in terms of openness and transparency, there is a significant gap between the expressed values and behavioral execution. Upper leadership seems to be out of touch with the reality of those leaders in the trenches.[9] This is compounded by the lack of meaningful relationship between the various levels.[10] The corporate purposes are often misplaced or contrary to the values and purposes of the denomination.[11] This makes it difficult for corporate leadership to clearly identify all the stakeholders and value their input.[12] All this results in group think that those closer to the top know best. Individuals that point out issues are told that they are out of alignment with the organization, though they may not be out of alignment with scripture or the expressed values. Those who have an voice to speak and be heard by leadership prefer to back away, saying it is not their responsibility or they do not want to get into the politics of it.
There is a very large elephant in the room that many well-meaning individuals are affixing band aids to.
In my search of a lasting change to address the elephant, I came across this powerful podcast with Brené Brown and Lisa Lahey,[13] the co-author of An Everyone Culture.[14] Lahey looks at the underlining motivations that prevent us from making and keeping the changes we desire.
[1] James O’Toole, “Speaking Truth to Power: A White Paper,” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, October 15, 2015, https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/business-ethics/resources/speaking-truth-to-power-a-white-paper/.
[2] James O’Toole, “Truth to Power: Beware Perils and Penalties.,” Leadership Excellence 25, no. 11 (November 2008): 9.
[3] O’Toole, “Speaking Truth to Power: A White Paper.”
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Peter Guy Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, Ninth Edition (Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publishing, 2021).
[11] O’Toole, “Speaking Truth to Power: A White Paper.”
[12] Ibid.
[13] Brené Brown, “Brené with Lisa Lahey on Immunity to Change, Part 2 of 2,” Spotify, Dare to Lead, n.d., https://open.spotify.com/episode/52jg6XzkCmaX4bxVaVywKI.
[14] Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization (Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press, 2016).
About the Author
Denise Johnson
Special Education teacher K-12, School Counselor K-12, Overseas field worker in Poland,10 responses to “There Is An Elephant In The Room”
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Denise,
You’ve raised the example of Jesus as speaking truth to power. Of course, Jesus paid the ultimate price for doing so. What can we learn from his example about different ways of approaching this?
A couple of things jump to my mind. One timing, he knew when to toss tables, use humor, and the quiet voice of providing a choice toward restorative repentance. He saw the individual and knew what
was the very best for that person. That was always his goal for truth to bring freedom.
Yes, but his timing and humor in speaking truth to power didn’t keep him from a humiliating death. How do you incorporate this into your journey of speaking truth?
Thanks for sharing. Wow, knowing a little more about your situation, that all sounds very difficult! I am so sorry. I read quite a bit this summer/fall about “toxic cultures.” It can be hard, if not impossible, to change, especially from the bottom up.
Given your current situation, is there anything you can do to help promote health in the current org. you have been a part of for so long?
Erik,
That is a great question. At the moment, I don’t have any extra bandwidth to deal with this. But I know that I need to find, what we call in missions, a person of peace, who will listen. That individual must be someone who has enough credibility to do something. Upper management has already damaged my credibility and painted me to be a disgruntled employee. I know that they have already removed 3 other people I know since my last interaction with them.
Denise, thanks for sharing a personal part of your leadership journey. I appreciate the way you incorporated Jesus and His willingness to challenge power structures despite the difficulty in doing so. I’m sorry for what you’ve experienced in your own “tribe” of churches. If you had one or two suggestions that would change the dynamic you’ve encountered, what would those be?
Thanks Roy. I have been a person who often asks questions about thinks that don’t match the goals of an organization. I just found individuals within the tribe as being less willing to be receptive to the questions. Leadership within education were more open to change. To answer your question, I think the number one element to effective change is maintaining regular opportunities for the least likely stakeholders to the table for input. 1 Corinthians 12:22-25. As a Special Education teacher/School Counselor one of the most important elements of my job to “see” the unseen and lost on the fringes. They hold the greatest insights.
Denise: Jesus was indeed a master of speaking truth to power. I also see how Jesus got mad at the right times and in the right degree over the right things. O’Toole quotes Aristotle on that principle and Jesus exemplified it. This brief paper was so helpful, if I ever have to speak truth to power in a ministry setting, I will keep all these principles in mind.
Denise, thank you for sharing.
In your opinion, what are some differences in corporate and church leadership culture between your ministry context and America? What would be the number one reason people shy away from speaking truth to power in your ministry context?
Denise: Thank you for your vulnerability in sharing more of your current context. Praying for discernment and wisdom as you continue to take steps forward.
I love the idea of studying the Beatitudes in light of this topic too – it would be so interesting.