Children charm us with the naivety that they bring to every situation. With their new eyes, they see the world with piercing honesty that most adults would shudder to express. My favorite card from my children is the one I received from my kindergartener on Mother’s Day. I laugh and cringe at her statements that “my mom weighs 533, and she spends a lot of time working.” The pieces of this innocence that makes us laugh are also those that we shy from the most in our adult lives. I would never tell my employee that I think she weighs 533 pounds, even if it is the truth. Likewise, I have difficulty admitting that I work more than most mothers of a six-year-old and an eight-year-old.
When you translate this level of candor to your workplace, what are you refusing to see?