In an insightful commentary posted by Mike Evans, Chairman of the Corrie ten Boom Foundation, et al., on CBN News, he wrote:

"The West is in the midst of high stakes hostage negotiations with a trillionaire who has the third-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons on the planet. The West has naively defined the terms of the debate, believing that Putin is attempting to rebuild the former USSR. They have waged an economic war and are winning a media war and a proxy war. They will shortly have poured a trillion dollars into Ukraine with aid and weapons, believing they can also win the proxy war as they did in Afghanistan that collapsed the former Soviet Union in humiliation.

The only problem is that the West is playing Russian roulette with a trapped rat who can attack its throat with nuclear weapons, not understanding why Putin is doing what he is doing and why he is attacking Ukraine may end up being the biggest mistake of the 21st century..."

This commentary reminded me of an axiom I believe and use consistently:

'The truth we must understand in any conversation is the truth sincerely held by the other person, not our own version of it.'

This is the case no matter how much we disagree with the other person or wish they didn't believe what they do. Without it, authentic communication cannot be established. Without it true intentions are missed, ignored, or disbelieved until after a catastrophe. So the question is, did more than a few Western leaders miss, ignore, or disbelieve the many 'signals' about Ukraine Vladimir Putin has been sending for more than a few years? Did we fail to understand what the other person was truly communicating, and if so, why? This is the same question every leader must ask themselves, whether on the international stage or leading a small business. The authentic answer for each leader may be of very great consequence.

#leadership #authentic #communication #truth #ukraine #russia #usa #europeanunion #invasionofukraine