Everyone has run into an emperor at some point. You know – the person who lords over his or her minions and possesses infallibility in all things both work and life related. So here is the question with which we start the week. Are you the tailor or are you the kid?
No idea what I’m talking about? I’m thinking of the Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Emperor’s new Clothes. You know the story – an emperor hires two swindlers to create him the finest suit of clothes ever, which they tell him they’ve done. The emperor parades through the city in his clothes until a child yells out “he’s naked.” So I’ll ask again – are you the tailor or the kid?
The former Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn, used to tell incoming congresspersons – “If you want to get along, go along.” In other words, don’t ask too many questions; don’t toss too many pebbles in the water since you don’t know what waves you’ll stir up. I hate that, maybe because I’m a s&*^ disturber by nature or maybe because I can’t imagine knowing that something is wrong or broken or not as good as it can be and just letting it be that way.
Having been an emperor of sorts (OK, maybe just an archduke or something), I can tell you that it’s very easy to be “managed.” You hear only the good news and people avoid giving you the bad. More importantly, the people who work for you, who generally are the ones closest to the relevant information, don’t question your decisions often enough, or when they do it’s not respectfully, to your face, in a constructive manner.
If you’re an emperor, you need to encourage your minions to let you know what you’re wearing. If you’re a loyal subject, you need to live in a land where speaking up is encouraged. If you’re letting the emperor hang out there naked, you’re a tailor. If you’re bringing a dose of reality to the parade, you’re the kid. So? Which is it?
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Consult Keith 
Having played all three of the roles a couple of times each, I think it is important to point out to the emperors that it isn’t just encouraging the minions to let you know what you’re wearing, but also to be truly open to hearing it. It is they, the emperors, not the minions, who are responsible for creating an environment where that kind of — as you say, respectful — communication is looked upon favorably. Silence (and even lying) is often the result of fear of reprisal or resentment for telling the truth. And as we all know, the corporate climate of any business (or family) always comes from the top.