Avoiding the Truth

I was recently invited to attend a series of team meetings with a group of employees and two volunteers who lead several community-based programs. During one session, the director asked a simple but powerful question:

“How are you doing with your volunteers? Do they enjoy volunteering? Are they happy?”

I was encouraged by the focus on volunteer happiness instead of the usual metrics, like punctuality or productivity. It was a rare moment of leadership leaning into care and connection. But the team’s response caught me off guard. “They’re happy. We’re doing great,” someone replied, with nods of agreement around the table.

I couldn’t help but pause. What they said and what I knew didn’t match.

You see, I had been informally pulse-checking with volunteers for the past month. “Happy” is not how they described their experience. Many of them expressed frustration,  exhaustion, and a feeling of being overlooked. Most continued to serve not because they were thriving, but because they felt the weight of responsibility. They knew that without them, things would fall apart.

The director had offered the team a growth moment—a chance to reflect, face the system's cracks, and learn from them. Instead, the team bypassed the moment entirely. They missed the opportunity because they weren’t willing to confront reality's discomfort.

Here’s the truth:

You have to know yourself to grow yourself.

And that includes knowing your team, your blind spots, and your current state of affairs, even when it’s messy.

What I witnessed was not a bad team; it was a team that lacked self-awareness. A team that chose comfort over clarity. But you can’t build something great if you're unwilling to face the truth.

Leadership demands honesty. It starts with the courage to live in reality. Because without that, there’s no path forward.

Call to Action

Take a moment this week to ask yourself, and your team, “What truth are we avoiding?”

Lean into honest conversations. Real growth starts where comfort ends.