We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Grace Gavin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Grace, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

What we often get wrong, from corporate to small business to nonprofit, is how we communicate. We often leave it up to chance and follow the old ways of doing things. But when 88% of our week is spent communicating, we can’t afford to ignore it. I see it happening with leaders all the time when they feel the need to protect themselves and their ideas over collaboration because they’re unsure if their team members will really hear what they’re saying. This is why we see silos happening across departments and industries.

Communication must be comprised of two elements: open and honest. Honesty is being truly and freely yourself, speaking into what you want and how you feel. We’re pretty good at that, but what we struggle more with as humans is being open. Openness is listening without reservation, putting your needs and wants on pause for someone else. When that is the expectation within an organization, teams more more efficiently and effectively. They’re solving the real issues blocking progress.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The heart of what I do is helping teams communicate better. I grew up on a dairy farm, the last of eight kids. Flash forward a few years and I found myself working at a daycare. From there, I met my now business partner, Ken Bogard, and helped as he guided leadership teams to implement EOS®. In working with those teams, we observed some that were able to move quickly, but others who struggled and took much longer. The differentiator we found is what led to Know Honesty.

The teams moving quickly had strong communication skills, specifically in their ability to be open and honest. They could debate issues, hear what each person had to say, find a solution, and progress forward together. We knew we had to help others evolve these skills. Miscommunication costs at least 18% of an employee’s salary each year and over $1 trillion loss to US companies each year. It excites me that we’re changing the tide on this.

Our focus is making communication simple, tangible, and implementable for organizations. We do that through The Six Practices™ we created, all centered around helping people be more open and honest. Using The Six Practices™, we take our clients through The Pursuit of Honesty™ Process to get everyone in the organization aligned on how they will communicate going forward. We’re starting with the bedrock of communication, knowing that’s we strengthen every other aspect of the organization.

I’m excited each day to see our clients investing in this work not only for their employees, but for every person they will interact with moving forward. By eliminating the divides and helping people become masterful communicators, we’re creating the path way to connection. We’ve taken it outside the session room too with our book, Know Honesty. Releasing October 18th, it’s how we will reach those who may never step foot into our offices to strengthen their communication. We’re here to change how the world communicates.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I’m constantly unlearning is the unattainability of perfection. When I first starting going to networking events, I thought I had to present as the “perfect” business person. I’d wear the uncomfortable blazers and shoes, have the perfect hair and makeup, and memorized the script. Seemed like that’s what everyone else was doing too. The conversations would be surface level and boring. I never made any real connections and left those events feeling exhausted. As I kept returning, I’d run into people I knew, but I didn’t really “know” anyone.

I couldn’t figure out why this was my experience. Until I realized how fake I was being. Of course I wasn’t connecting with anyone on a meaningful level. They weren’t getting to know the real me, but rather this facade I had conjured up. And that’s why I left each one feeling exhausted too. Pretending to be a “perfect” version of myself was sapping my energy and not leaving room to engage in conversations.

Now, I love going to events. You won’t see me in a stuffy blazer or keeping a conversation surface level. I’m there to connect with other humans, for real this time. Some times the conversations are messy and awkward, but more often they’re fun and exciting. Dropping the pursuit of perfection has created a new world for me.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

During July 2020, mid-pandemic and the ensuing chaos, my dad was diagnosed with stage four cancer. I was 22 years old and we were staring down a diagnosis with a 3% survival rate. We made the support plans and dad moved forward with chemo. Sadly it wasn’t enough and dad left this earth just five months later in December 2020.

Losing this once giant of a man rocked my world. I thought I’d have years and years yet with him and that disappeared in an instance. It reoriented my entire life and I knew nothing would ever be the same again. There was the option to fall into the despair or the option to continue moving forward.

I began therapy, read on Grief and Grieving by Elizabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler, and had a tough conversation with my business partner, Ken. We were in the beginning stages of founding a business with another gentleman, on top of running his EOS® practice. We had the expectation of open and honest communication and he could sense I wasn’t fully present. He asked what was going on. I explained, “My dad just passed away and I’ve never gone through this before. I want to be here and working, but I also need space and understanding right now.” We worked through it together and I know we’re stronger for it.

Fast forward to now, this informs every aspect of how I live my life. It’s been made wildly clear to me that we have one life to live. To spend it pretending to be someone we’re not is not only a waste of our time, but also inhibits the gifts only we can bring to the world. It is why I insist, teach, and promote everyone being open and honest.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://knowhonesty.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knowhonesty/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/knowhonesty
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-gavin/

Image Credits

Russell Climie – Tiberius Images (headshot)