Mastering the Moment of Truth

At some point in your PR career, you figure out what you’re good at — not just the hard skills like writing, media relations or social media prowess, but the soft skills that set you apart.

A while back, I realized that my thing was honesty. However, this was not the Pollyanna kind, but rather the sometimes unwelcome honesty that we must sometimes deliver if we want to be of value to the C-suite.

This action isn’t as simple as speaking your mind and letting the chips fall. It’s about doing your homework, having a clear understanding of a given situation, keeping the organization’s best interest at heart, and being willing to pay the price, if need be, for having laid out an uncomfortable truth to senior leadership. In short, it’s mastering the moment of truth.

Defining the moment

For our purposes, the moment of truth is when you must tell someone a truth they may not be ready to hear when they need to listen to it.

Over the years, I’ve been tested numerous times by screamers, phone-throwers, expletive artists and seethers. People who would kick you out of their office in a nanosecond, but for some reason, they liked me.

As time went by, I realized it was because I was consistently honest with them in a respectful way. They saw I cared about what was best for them.

Knowing the first rule 

If this is something you’d want to master, then you need to know the first rule. Commit not to sidestep uncomfortable conversations. Meet them head-on. This step may be the most challenging part, but once you’ve committed to this, you have no choice but to work at it.

I once had to tell a CEO I had contingencies in place for the likely death of his father, the chairman of his company. Uncomfortable? Yes. Appreciated? Absolutely. Other times it was about taking a tough stance on an issue some organizations didn’t want to touch.

A few times, a news story wasn’t all the CEO thought it might be, or the CEO needed media relations training, or a pet project that senior leadership had an emotional attachment to wasn’t working out. These are more common scenarios.

Career-enhancing situations

For some, the situations I described are ones to be avoided because the risk is too significant. For me, they’ve been career-enhancing.

If this sounds like you, then embrace it. But before you do, here are some other tips.

Once actionable information (not gossip) comes your way that you know won’t go over well in the C-suite, know that for you, the wheels are already in motion. It’s not a matter of whether to say something, just how tactfully and respectfully you will say it.

Remember that it’s not about you. It’s never about you. It’s about the greater good. That will keep you centered and give you the confidence and will to say something that someone else may not welcome.

At the moment of truth, don’t look for friends or allies. When you tell people in power something they don’t want to hear, you’re on your own. Expect this.

Before you take any action, you need to know that one of the most important values you can have is a commitment to seeing a courageous moment of truth through — one that enables leaders to make clearheaded and sober decisions. 

For that, they may be grateful, but you can rest assured that you are making a difference.