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How to deliver hard truths

Some leaders sugarcoat the truth because they think it’s kinder.
But sugar melts. And when it does, all that’s left is a sticky mess.

One of the reasons they soften the bad news is because they want to protect their people.

They think a spoonful of sugar makes it easier to handle.

But here’s the problem: when the coating melts (and it always does), what’s left is the mess: the sense that something’s missing, that something doesn’t quite add up.

The wondering that now follows is often worse than the truth.

People will try to piece things together. And pretty quickly, the version that spreads in their conversations sounds much scarier than the real story ever was.

That’s why I always prefer clarity. Transparency. Honesty.

It might not taste as sweet as the sugared version.
But it’s far healthier.

Trust me: People can handle the truth.
Doubt is a lot harder to handle for them.

It makes people sick.

So if you want to light the path, don’t sweeten the truth.
Say it as it is. Plain and simple.

To me, that’s way kinder than serving a spoonful of sugar.

Keep lighting the path,
Michael

The “real” meeting

Clarity is when a meeting ends and no one needs the “real” meeting afterward.

It’s when the targets are missed and you can still say it out loud.
It’s when the slide shows the gap, not the sugar-coating.
It’s when the nods in the room mean understanding, not pretending.

It’s when disagreement still leads to a next step.
It’s when the team walks out aligned, not divided.
It’s when the hallway chatter matches the official decision.

It’s when meetings stop being theater.
And start creating progress.

👉 Join me and Harald in our live session “How to Lead with Clarity” as we explore how to make this possible, even in a system that doesn’t seem to want it.

Keep lighting the path!

Ambiguity in a nicer outfit

Have you ever settled for consensus because it felt easier than saying the uncomfortable truth out loud?

We all have.

And often it feels like progress in the moment.

The plan sounds good enough.
No one raises another concern that would pause the process.
So we move on.

Finally.

But then, at some point… someone quietly questions the direction. Others openly debate about what was “agreed.”

Clearly, something’s off and everyone can feel it.

That meeting clarified nothing. It just covered the tension below the surface.

Of course, we don’t do this because we’re careless.
It happens because we care.
About keeping the team moving.
About not being “that person” who slows things down.
About keeping the energy up.

But every time we choose that kind of comfort, we trade progress for it.

That’s not clarity.
It’s ambiguity in a nicer outfit.

Scrum doesn’t need more consensus.
It needs courage.
It needs words that drive progress … even when it’s messy. Even when it’s hard.

That’s what the Clarity Cheat Sheet for Scrum Masters is for. It contains 8 shifts to help you find words that make progress possible and truth speakable. It’s free, no email required. Download it now.

Do you know someone who would benefit from this? Please share it with them!

Keep lighting the path!

Space for Truth

The higher you rise, the quieter the truth becomes.
Which is a problem if you want to lead with clarity.

It only works if you’re hearing what you need to hear.

It’s not that people stop knowing the truth.
Or that they would even be dishonest.

But they only give you a filtered version.

Because your role has changed.

Your title alone makes people second-guess themselves.
Your presence shapes the conversation before you say a word.

Even if you invite honesty, people hesitate.

“Is this really safe to say?”
“Do they really want to hear this?”

If you don’t notice this early, the conversation empties out.
You stop hearing what matters most.
And start hearing only what feels safe to share.

The usual advice won’t change that.
“My door’s alway open.” ← Yeah, but what happens when I’m out again?

“Don’t hesitate to speak up.” ← Yeah, but what happens when I actually do?

You want to prove it’s welcome.

→ When someone raises a difficult point, and you lean in with curiosity — not defensiveness.
→ When you thank people for uncomfortable feedback, instead of brushing it aside.
→ When you share uncomfortable truths yourself, showing it’s safe to speak openly here.

In other words, you go first. When you signal that you welcome uncomfortable truths, people start to trust you with theirs.

They learn:

This is safe.
This is valued.
This matters.

That’s when meaningful conversations happen. After you create the space for them.

Keep lighting the path!

The mirror of trust

Trust is like a mirror. Once it’s cracked, no matter how much you try to fix it, the reflection is never quite the same.

Honesty has a difficult standing in some leadership circles. People believe they can’t trust their team or customers with the truth. Or that they’d need to protect their team from it. And so, they avoid it.

And I get it. It’s tempting to promise the moon in the moment to give a little extra motivational boost. Or to beautify the situation to give some false assurances.

But that’s like tapping a hammer against that mirror. Each small crack harms the surface. Until at some point it eventually shatters.

The strongest teams I’ve worked with, had a very different approach.

People can handle uncertainty far better than they can handle broken promises. Honesty, even when it’s uncomfortable, keeps the mirror intact.

If you’re unsure, say so. If the road ahead is unclear, admit it.

Every time your team sees that your words and actions are perfectly aligned – even in difficult times – they trust you a little more. And that means that trust is intact when it matters.

Keep lighting the path!

Your truth, their truth

Your truth, your words.
Their truth, their words.

If you want someone to see your truth, it’s not going to work using your words.

You need to find their words. A way of speaking about your truth in a way that it makes sense for them.

That’s true for the foundational things you believe.

But it’s also true for:
→ The way you communicate your vision.
→ The way you navigate tough negotiations.
→ How you pitch your ideas to stakeholders.
→ How you frame feedback so it actually lands.
→ How you gain buy-in for a bold new direction.
→ The way you rally your team around a strategy.
→ How you position change so people embrace it.
→ The way you make people feel heard and valued.
→ How you resolve conflicts without escalating them.
→ The way you shape culture, not just enforce policies.
→ How you turn abstract goals into compelling narratives.
→ How you align diverse perspectives toward a common goal.
→ The way you sell – not just products, but ideas and decisions.
→ The way you challenge assumptions without alienating people.
→ The way you make your message stick long after the meeting is over.

It all comes down to this:
People don’t act on what makes sense to you.
They act on what makes sense to them.

The moment truth hits you

If you asked every member of your team, “what do you think is our strategy?” how many different answers would you get?

Well, wait a second. What if I asked you?

Could you give a concise answer?

And that’s a bitter pill to swallow for many businesses … when they realize that, well, honestly, we don’t even have a simple way of explaining how we make a difference!

We can’t tell the essence of our strategy in plain and simple English.

But I tend to think that that’s actually good news.

Because it likely means that it’s not the strategy itself that’s the problem.

It’s the words you use to describe it.

And the moment you see that, you can look for better words.

You can find words that align your team on that shared path.

Refusing to make an impact

Every so often, I meet a bright mind who excels in their field but almost refuses to make a broader impact.

They tell me that their field is complex and simpler words just wouldn’t do it justice.

Or that the nature of marketing is deceptive and they wouldn’t want to engage in this dishonest game.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking argument is a perceived lack of public speaking skills.

Don’t get me wrong. Yes, the world is complex. Yes, marketing can seem like trickery. And yes, speaking isn’t everyone’s favorite activity.

But first of all, these are challenges, not barriers. More importantly, I think there’s a different perspective:

→ Simple words are not meant to dumb complex ideas down but to make them accessible. That is possible (and necessary).

→ Marketing is not deceptive, marketers are. Your marketing can be authentic (and should).

→ Speaking is a skill that can be developed. Every great speaker started as a bad speaker. With every speech they dared to give, they got better.

Here’s the thing:
If you don’t speak up to tell your story, the stage is open for others to take.

Most of them don’t care nearly as much as you do. Why should they get the attention? I’d much rather listen to your story! I very much prefer truthful stories, told from the heart by someone who deeply cares.

Speak up

I want to live in a world in which those who have an important story to tell find the words that motivate them to speak up with confidence

Words that resonate strongly and inspire action.

Words that are honest and compelling.

Words they truly believe in about the things they deeply care about.

There are more than enough careerists who couldn’t care less about the stories they tell as long as these stories get them the deal, the promotion, the vote, …

They are the ones who have no issue with speaking up, even if they don’t believe in what they say.

We shouldn’t leave the field to them.

I want to live in a world where those who do care for their story, tell their story – and in a way that gives them a chance of being heard.

That’s why I do what I do.

Don’t confuse your vision with your marketing

A lesson for entrepreneurs from one of tech’s biggest failures in recent years.

It’s well known that tech brands like to paint sweeping narratives of transformation, promising us devices that will reshape our lives and disrupt industries.

They love larger-than-life stories and lofty promises to captivate our imaginations with visions of groundbreaking innovation.

Such as Humane’s ai pin which was marketed as the product to finally free us all from the slavery of our phones, a personal assistant that looks like it’s coming directly out of a Star Trek movie with features that definitely sound SciFi.

But reviews were brutal.
Their product didn’t deliver.
Worse, it failed at basic tasks.

Apparently, Humane wanted too much.
They certainly promised too much.

Perhaps, they had confused their vision with their marketing.

Vision is crucial, but it needs to align with current capabilities.

The vision might be what motivates the team.
It informs the choices you make.

But it’s not the reality.
At least, not yet.

You shouldn’t make promises that sound as if it were.

I think it’s a safe bet that reviewers were merciless at least in part due to their oversized promises.

Had they marketed it more grounded in reality, for example as a first step towards that vision, perhaps even with more limited functionality (but which actually works as expected), reviewers might have reacted very differently.

They might have rooted for the newcomer.
Followed along their journey.
Cheered for the little successes along the way.

But Humane chose the grandiose, larger-than-life story.

I think they confused vision with marketing.

Spread the Word

Picture of Dr. Michael Gerharz

Dr. Michael Gerharz