Last night, a speaker confronted us with the importance of truth telling and its relationship to trust building. I was reminded that it takes courage and a genuine interest in others to tell them the truth, especially if that truth isn't what they want to hear.

You can tell someone that they have a peppercorn between their front teeth, but do you have the courage to tell them how they could be more effective at work?

I have been truly blessed by colleagues that have challenged me, when when the message they had to deliver was a tough one. They made me think. Really, think. And for that I am thankful.

You have to really care about the person to risk the relationship to tell them the truth and to make them think. As the quote below illustrates, they might hate you in the end.

"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you: But if you
really make them think; they'll hate you." - Don Marquis

But without truth telling, there isn't much ofa relationship anyway.