It’s been a chaotic and interesting week.
We witnessed the senseless slaughter of nine Americans at a worship service in South Carolina. We watched as their families and community showed us how to come together and push through unspeakable sorrow with dignity, class, and faith. I watched as churches in my community responded in different ways to threats they received to “shoot them up!” in retaliation for what occurred in South Carolina.
This violence spurred the ongoing debate about whether or not the flag incorrectly referred to as the Confederate flag should be banned. From all the back-and-forth, I’ve noted a few things that, for leaders, are worth remembering.
1. If you are going to insist on expressing your opinion, get your facts straight. In this case, the Confederate States of American had three flags. The one we are arguing about was never one of them. It was one of hundreds of flags carried in battle, and is often called the Confederate Battle Flag. There are really two versions of the flag being debated. One is known as the Southern Cross, the other is the Confederate Navy Jack. Most folks can’t tell them apart.
As a leader, lead from truth: not emotion. Build trust. Go to the trouble of checking the facts before you open your mouth. A leader cannot afford the luxury of emotion-driven debate. It is the truth, and only the truth, that sets free.