Most leaders think being direct is harsh. They’re wrong.
Steve Jobs killed projects with two words: “It’s sh(one)t.” His team knew exactly where they stood. No false hope. No mixed signals. No, wondering if maybe next quarter would be different.
Your meetings run long because you won’t say what you mean. You meet again because you did not resolve the matter. Your projects drag because you won’t make the call. Your team drifts because you think kindness means keeping everyone comfortable. Over time, performance wanes, leading to demise and ultimately doing what should have been done much earlier.
Why, because we do not know how to be direct.
But clarity isn’t cruel. It’s expensive. It costs you the safety of maybe. The comfort of later. The luxury of universal approval.
Your people don’t need your diplomatic dance. They need to know what matters. What doesn’t make the cut. Where they stand.
The conversation you’re avoiding is the one your team needs most. The project you won’t kill is stealing resources from what could work. The person you won’t redirect is wasting their talent in the wrong seat.
Surgical precision demands surgical courage. The courage to disappoint. To be misunderstood. To choose progress over politeness.
Your next decision is waiting. You can soften it, committee it, delay it. Or you can give your team the most expensive gift possible.
Two clear words beat twenty careful paragraphs.
