Weekend Conversations: Leaders Must Tell The Best Version of the Truth

·50 min·5 clips

Robert Glazer defines the 'best version of the truth' as the cliff notes, not the full gory details.

The problem starts with timing. Glazer asks whether someone should mention a test before the results come back, or wait the three days until there is something real to say. That difference matters. Silence is not automatically a white lie, because people are not always required to share unfinished information. But relationships change the bar. A husband and wife may expect a different level of disclosure than siblings, parents, or children trying to handle each other's anxiety. Preference also matters. If someone has clearly said they would rather know early, and the same withholding keeps happening, it starts to feel less like protection and more like avoidance. Stress makes the call harder. The conversation leaves room for people who catastrophize, where early disclosure may create panic instead of clarity. Still, good intentions can miss the mark. The sharper point is that trying to control or predict someone else's emotions is where people often get into trouble. That is the Elevate angle here. Truth is treated as a practical judgment call, not a poster slogan about transparency or discretion. Context does not excuse every silence, but it explains why the same choice lands differently depending on the relationship. The useful test is personal: what has the other person asked for, what pattern already exists, and what happens if the silence repeats? Glazer keeps it narrow, which helps. Some hard conversations do not have a clean rule. They have expectations, consequences, and the work of knowing the person in front of you.

As heard by us

A grounded look at how honesty shifts when relationships, expectations, and emotional reactions are part of the decision.

The episode frames honesty as a matter of judgment, not a simple rule about saying everything as soon as it is known. Robert Glazer and producer Mick Sloan work through the gray area where withholding information can start to look like a white lie, using test results, family…

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Why you'd press play

You will hear a useful test for deciding when silence starts to feel like a white lie.

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