“Truth has etiquette, decorum and a level of politeness to it”
What colour would you assign to ‘truth’? Take for instance, we normally say the night is dark and therefore one can be justified if they give night time the colour black. An orange has the obvious colour, which is orange. Now humour me, what is the colour of truth and why would you give it that colour?
…think about it for a second…
We are told to always tell the truth and that, as the scripture says, ‘The truth shall set you free’. Amilcar Cabral in 1965 admonishes his Party to ‘Tell no lies, claim no easy victories...’ These statements are very true, and they are to be adhered to, with a bit of caution though.
One does not go around telling people they are short, fat or ugly even though these might hold a level of truth in them. When telling the truth, one must appreciate the context, consider the timing and I can only hope that they have emotional intelligence as well.
“Truth might be disruptive and offensive, therefore, question your rights or afforded privileges to it before you share speak”
Truth has etiquette, decorum and a level of politeness to it. It should not be administered anyhow and anywhere. It is like a double-edged sword which cuts both sides. For example, I have been told that I have gained a lot of weight lately and I don’t like it, although it is true. This truth must be told with wisdom and care otherwise someone might soon kiss the ground if not lose their front teeth. Truth might be disruptive and offensive, therefore, question your rights or afforded privileges to it before you share speak. Telling the truth to people is an honour that might need to be earned.
One can, rather, hold on to some truths for a better opportunity, or better yet, create a better environment that might be conducive to information sharing. This is true in the work environment where a senior official must give feedback to a subordinate or a contraria.
“Think context, timing and emotional intelligences”
On the spur of the moment and at the point of conflict, one must decide what to do with whatever truth that might come out. Do I give full vent to my anger and dish out how you are ‘#&%^%^’, or do I delay this surge of anger for another time when I would not regret what I am thinking now? Think context, timing and emotional intelligences. When these fail, pray for wisdom.
So, going back to colouring truth, I beg scientists not to think spectrographs and Perspex prisms but more paints and pigments. I would choose magenta, yellow, or cyan which are generally simplified as red, yellow, and blue - the primary colours. The reason being that, they are disruptive and when mixed together in varying degrees, they give other colours which is my metaphor for disruptive truths that never leave the status quo the way it was. Such is truth, it is not without consequences when applied. It’s the consequences that we need to be mindful of as they dictate to the aforementioned decorum.
“Kindness and compassion is still the business of all business”
My advice to the leaders, supervisors, managers and CEOs is that you should learn the etiquette of telling the truth in an environment where productivity needs to be optimised. Kindness and compassion is still the business of all business. And telling the truth must never be weaponised against vulnerable human beings.
Writing the Way, 2019
By: Olwam Mnqwazi
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