Welcome to the John Maxwell Leadership Podcast. My name is Mark Cole and I'm excited today

to be co-hosting again with Chris Goady. Don't just communicate, connect, part two.

As we get started, just a reminder that if you would like to download the show notes,

please visit MaxwellPodcast.com forward slash connecting. Click the bonus resource button

and get ready to learn. All right, here we go. Now John C. Maxwell.

The fourth disconnect that I had as an early leader is that I failed to initiate important

and difficult conversations. As a leader, I didn't get involved with real confronting

tough discussions. And let me tell you why. I grew up at a home that was very, very solid.

And although there was some no question dysfunction within a home as there would be, I didn't

see much of it. Very trusting, very open. And we didn't have a lot of difficult decisions

or conversations. And we didn't have a lot of real issues to work through. And so when

I became a leader, when I would see somebody having real issues and I thought, well, I need

to really discuss this with them, but this is going to be a tough conversation. I would

kind of back off. So let me really kind of drill down here from home because this was a

major disconnect that I had. I don't want you to have it. In my book, The Five Levels

of Leadership, in level number two, which is a relationship level, I talk about the challenges

of leader to balance care and candor. Let's talk about it. In other words, I want to care

for you. So I want to relate well to you. But I also want to have candor with you so

that I can be honest with you so that we can have some movement in progress. And that

means we're going to have some maybe very difficult conversations. And here's what I said

in The Five Levels book. It's in your notes. Care without candor creates dysfunctional

relationships. In other words, I love you, but I won't be honest with you. That just creates

...