Yes Man
I’ve watched leaders build rooms where agreement comes easily.
Heads nod.
Notes get taken.
The air feels supportive.
Not because the ideas are right.
Because disagreement has learned its place.
Concerns soften.
Questions get rephrased.
Eventually, some thoughts stop forming at all.
The room hasn’t improved.
It has adapted.
This isn’t just a leadership problem.
You see it wherever power concentrates.
Celebrities.
The ultra-wealthy.
Anyone surrounded by people whose livelihoods depend on staying close.
Access becomes currency.
Approval becomes survival.
Dependence reshapes honesty.
What begins as loyalty turns into caution.
Caution turns into silence.
Bad ideas get polished.
Unfinished thoughts get applause.
Confidence gets mistaken for wisdom.
Over time, reality bends.
Gently.
One affirmation at a time.
That kind of leadership looks strong from a distance.
Decisive. Certain. Untouchable.
But it’s brittle.
The greatest leaders I’ve known fought that drift.
They made room for tension.
They protected disagreement.
They treated correction as care.
They understood something rare.
Agreement doesn’t deepen vision.
It narrows it.
Scripture tells us plans succeed with many advisers.
Not many approvals.
Many perspectives willing to risk discomfort for the sake of truth.
So today, I’m asking myself a question that costs something.
Who do I keep close
that will tell me what I don’t want to hear
and stay long enough to help me carry it?
Because yes men don’t protect me.
They obscure my vision.
Subscribe:
One thought, every weekday morning, straight to your inbox for free.
So grateful when friends share First Light.
Every share helps the message reach someone who might need it today.
#FirstLightwithNate #FirstLightBlog #Leadership #Wisdom #CourageousLeadership #HealthyTeams
amen