“Jerry, just remember it’s not a lie if you believe it”
George Constanza
Not many of us are as deliberately flexible with the truth as Seinfeld’s George Constanza but we’re all guilty of lying to ourselves to some degree. From the battered wife who refuses to see her husband as an abuser to the rogue trader taking unacceptable risks, all too often we blind ourselves to the glaringly obvious.
The reasons for this are complex and varied. Sometimes our refusal to acknowledge the truth is based on fear of rejection, rocking the boat or upsetting the status quo. Frequently greed blinds people to the folly of their actions as the spate of recent corporate collapses such as Storm Financial and Opes Prime, clearly demonstrates.
In her powerful book “Willful Blindness” Margaret Heffernan illustrates how ignoring the truth of a situation can led to disaster on both a personal and a global scale. She points to a variety of shocking events from Nazi Germany through to the current climate change debate to build a compelling case. She delves into the psychology behind “willful blindness” and helps us to remove the self-imposed blinkers which obfuscate our lives. She concludes “that when we confront facts and fears we achieve real power and unleash our capacity for change”.
In the book Margaret Heffernan extolls individuals with the “courage to look and fierce determination to see”. These qualities resonate with the Integrity and Values team and we are determined to instil them in future generations of leaders. Our Effective Communications Course (ECC) aims to equip your leadership team with the skills to “tell it like it is” and to bring clarity to your business communications. The program teaches participants how listen and speak with clear mindedness. Most importantly it empowers your team to assertively “speak up” about points of contention. This in turn creates a culture of transparency with a measurable impact on your business productivity.
For more information about Integrity and Values Effective Communication Course email or call us on 1300 364 588.
Meanwhile Back At HQ
The Integrity in Values now has a permanent presence in Queensland. We are very excited to have Tanja Caprioli on board as our full time representative in Brisbane.
