Keeping Your Own Counsel

"The man who says what he thinks is finished, and the man who thinks what he says is an idiot."
Rolf Hochhuth

What do you think of this sentiment? Would it help to know more about Herr Hochhuth?

I believe that a significant portion of humanity operates as though these two statements were true. I'm sure there are many reasons for this, but the root of all the reasons is fear. Fear is such a powerful emotion in us that many can't even acknowledge it--even to themselves. The result is that it transforms and appears (I like the word manifests) as another emotion altogether.

Earlier I posted regarding controlling personalities and said that insecurity and low self-worth, two manifestations of fear, were at the root of the need for control. When I saw this quote on MSN today, I immediately went back to the control issue. These two statements nullify everything we teach about collaboration and teamwork. If they ring true to you, may I suggest that you ask yourself why.

This isn't a casual investigation. You're not going to be truthful with yourself at first. You'll have to do the kaizen "seven whys" and do the seven whys repeatedly because, if you hope to help yourself and are attempting to be honest with yourself, you will get different answers each time you get to the seventh why. One day you will name a specific thing that is the cause of your fear and you will feel good because knowing is better than not knowing. But this is just the first plateau.

Now you have to ask why this particular thing is producing fear in you.

Each time you reach a new plateau, you will look around and see your world differently.

Do you recognize in yourself the need for control? Do you share your vision, plans, objectives freely and listen to the responses? Do you say what you believe and believe what you say?

How can your company, organization, team function productively if you answered no to any of these questions?