6. Don’t Speak Truth to Power

There is a saying in business: “Speak truth to power.” The flaw in that logic is twofold. First, it presumes you have the truth and the only truth. In fact, you may not have the only truth. This assumption can set you up in a dangerous way by creating unnecessary conflict. The second flaw is thinking that someone else has power and you don’t. Again, this is a flawed assumption because it’s disempowering to think you don’t have any power.

We all have our own truth and our own power. Instead of speaking truth to power, focus on “speaking my truth.” You own it and it’s yours and you have the power to share it. We need to speak our truth and also recognize there are other truths. By acknowledging and focusing on our own truth, it gives others permission to speak their truth as well.

What is my truth?