Unflinching selflessness. The disclosure moment.

How important is disclosure where you work? How is disclosure encouraged and enabled? What are the expectations of those around you? Bosses, peers, staff, customers, suppliers?

A friend of mine led an expedition in the Arctic. One team member toughed out the onset of frostbite. Ultimately the whole team, as well as the individual, was put at grave risk when the frostbite deteriorated to the point when there weren’t enough hands, literally, to put up life-saving tents in a -55 degrees Celsius blizzard.

What are the trigger conditions for goal-critical disclosure where you work? The point before which your team really needs to know the important thing you know? The point before which alternatives can be enacted? The point at which colleagues recognise you have done the right thing? The point beyond which problems cost a whole lot more than they need to? The point beyond which people’s respect for you will wither in some way?

How do you balance a desire for individual strength around perseverance and resilience with the needs for team-ship and a focus on collective goals? What are you doing as a team to discuss and define the conditions when unflinching, selfless and courageous conversations are needed? What is the spirit of trust, commitment and accountability that will enable this?

Dave Stewart

The Fresh Air Learning Company