The Unleashing Leaders Podcast
Ep 60: Speaking Truth to Power: How to Elevate Unpopular Risks to Upper Management with Payson Hall
In this conversation, Lee sits down with Payson Hall, founding member and consulting project manager at Catalysis Group. Payson was one of Lee's earliest mentors. Together they unpack a skill most leaders avoid: delivering bad news before it becomes a crisis. Payson traces the lesson to a Ranger sergeant in a Georgia swamp who refused to let him fake confidence with a map and a fat gloved finger. The fix became a career long habit Payson calls the pine needle test. Name your uncertainty precisely. Don't point vaguely and hope nobody asks a follow up question. From there, Payson and Lee dig into the moments that test a leader's nerve. In the "when in June" story, a product team confidently promised a June ship date. Payson asked each group to name the exact day. The whole schedule unraveled in real time. Then there's the cheeseburger talk: Payson's name for the one on one, out of office conversation he has with every sponsoring executive early in an engagement. Payson also draws a line that trips up a lot of consultants. Project or scope change management is a different animal from technology or organizational change management. Confusing the three is where "unpopular fact" conversations go sideways. Additional Resources: Connect with Payson Hall on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paysonhall/ Attend Unleashing Leaders University: https://unleashingleadersuniversity.com/curriculum Learn more about Unleashing Leaders: https://unleashingleaders.com/ Follow Unleashing Leaders on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unleashingleaders Connect with Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeallenscott/ Follow Unleashing Leaders on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnleashingLeaders/ Follow Unleashing Leaders on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unleashingleaders/ Key Takeaways: Leaders who deliver bad news early prevent small risks from becoming full-blown crises. The pine needle test means naming your uncertainty precisely rather than pointing vaguely and hoping nobody asks a follow-up question. Asking "when in June" instead of accepting "June" can unravel a schedule that looks solid on the surface. Building trust with executives through informal, out-of-office conversations early in an engagement makes harder conversations possible later. Project change management, technology change management, and organizational change management are different disciplines, and confusing them is where difficult conversations go sideways.
