Greg Stevenson explains why leaders hear less truth as they climb: subordinates filter criticism because disagreeing is costly. The feedback that does reach you arrives late, softened, and polished. Effective leaders must actively seek unvarnished criticism and ask when they last heard something they didn't want to hear.
Nobody warns you that the better you lead, the less truth reaches you. As you rise, disagreeing with you gets more expensive for everyone around you. So they soften it. They wait until after the meeting. They tell each other, not you. Nobody is lying. The truth just arrives later, smaller, and too polished to act on. The leaders who last go looking for it on purpose. When did someone last tell you something you did not want to hear? Follow this channel for more on the interior game of leadership.
