They Gathered for Mutiny

At a newly successful company, the employees called a meeting with the CEO.

From the moment the meeting invite hit inboxes, you could sense the tension in the halls. It became even thicker as people began to gather in the designated meeting space.

As the meeting time struck the hour, a designated spokesperson, a brave soul, begins to speak to the CEO.

"We are here to let you know we, ALL, are leaving the company. "

If you were the CEO, how would you react?

As the CEO, your mind might be racing through the past few months, remembering how you had seen the company make significant changes toward success and financial stability. You might also think, well, if I can do it with this group, we might even be more successful with a new team.

This story was relayed to me by the 'CEO' in this story. Admittedly the last thought would have been his response in prior circumstances. But this time his reaction was different. His thought process went to:

"What if they have something to say that is useful to me?"

Have you ever heard the phrase," inside every sarcastic statement is a little truth?" That is the concept the owner/boss was quickly walking through in his mind. I really must have done something for all of the employees to get to this point.

His next questions defused the situation and set the whole company on the road to greater success:

"What don't you like about the way I lead?"

and

"What do you want to be different around here?"

The employees were not expecting that response.

We may never be in the position where the whole company was ready for mutiny, but we have all confronted with comments that at first listen hurt.

The owner recognized there was the truth, hard truth behind the 'quitting' statement, and by asking his questions, the door was open for a conversation that led to further success.

Maybe we all need to train ourselves to act and not harshly react to stinging statements patiently. There may be some truth we need to hear.

Would I have given the same response? In my 30s and 40s, NO. Today, I would hope so.

A healthy team and organizational success are only possible through honest dialog. Realizing there is some truth even in statements that hurt can open the door to constructive dialog.