You’re the boss. You have a sign on your head that says – in bright neon red – “I CAN FIRE YOU.”

As a result, your people won’t tell you things.

They don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, they don’t want to draw your attention, and they don’t want to get fired.

What won’t they tell you?

1. They won’t tell you you’re wrong.

2. They won’t tell you their tools don’t work (they’ll make do with crappy hardware and software).

3. They won’t tell you that they hate their job and are looking for another.

4. They won’t tell you when they don’t understand your instructions (they’ll ask someone else that is equally ill informed).

5. They won’t tell you that you play favorites.

6. They won’t tell you when you’re doing something really stupid.

Plus, they won’t tell you a host of other things (like that your breath stinks and that your ties are an embarrassment to the firm). The list could easily be 10, 20, even 100 things they won’t tell you.

All of this is stuff you need to know. You’ve got to work on dimming the sign on your head and getting the information from them. It’s important information to have if you’re going to be successful.

They won’t start talking until they feel secure in their positions. They’ve got to know that you behave in predictable, rational ways. They need to know that you’re rooting for their success and not trying to catch their mistakes. They need reassurance that you trust them and that they’re valuable to you.

None of that will happen if you don’t communicate with them frequently. You’ve got to get to know them. You need to know what’s going on in their lives and what’s happening in their families.

You’ve got to demonstrate that you’re a trustworthy person and that you won’t kill the messenger.

And, once you’ve achieved all that, you’ve got to ask them for their input. When you ask, reassure them that you want honest, open input and that there will be no repurcussions.

And even then, they won’t always tell you what you need to hear.