BOOK EXCERPT: The Heart of the Matter (Chapter 3)
Editor's note: Each week, the Henrico Citizen will present a new chapter of The Heart of the Matter, a forthcoming book by Gayle Turner and Shelli Jost Brady, longtime Central Virginia leadership consultants, storytellers, and community builders. Through stories and reflection, the authors explore how the values people hold and the stories they tell shape the decisions they make — at work, at home, and in communities. Follow along each week as the book unfolds, one chapter at a time.
Chapter 3 — The fantasy of infallibility
Yuval Noah Harari makes an observation that should make every leader uncomfortable:
Human beings crave certainty more than truth.
Truth demands humility. Certainty offers control.
And when control feels threatened, people will defend certainty—even when it is wrong.
Why infallibility feels so safe
Infallibility promises:
- No doubt
- No reversal
- No embarrassment
- No vulnerability
It offers leaders an intoxicating illusion:
“If I am never wrong, I am never exposed.”
But infallibility is not strength. It is armor. And armor always distances the wearer from the people they lead.
The cost of never being wrong
Leaders trapped in infallibility:
- Stop listening
- Stop learning
- Stop being corrected
- Stop being trusted
Their organizations don’t become stable. They become silent.
And silence is not agreement. It is fear with good manners.
Why certainty kills adaptation
Every major failure story contains the same thread:
“We couldn’t imagine being wrong.”
Markets change.
People change.
Reality changes.
Only infallibility refuses to evolve.
Certainty feels safe.
It is actually fragile.
Harari’s warning to leaders
Harari reminds us that history punishes those who believe their own myths.
Cultures collapse not when leaders lie — but when they believe the lies they tell themselves and others.
Infallibility feels like confidence. It is disconnection.
The antidote Is not doubt — it is humility
In his book, Prayer, Richard Foster defines humidity as living as close to the truth as possible: the truth about ourselves, the truth about others,the truth about the world we live in.
Humility does not mean weakness.
It means:
- Staying teachable
- Remaining corrigible
- Leading as a learner
Humility keeps the stories flexible enough to survive reality.
Closing reflection
The fantasy of infallibility trades truth for control. Great leaders trade control for truth. And subsequently achieve trust.
Cultures always grow to match the courage—or the fear—of the people at the heart of the organization.
Discover what matters most to you by taking "The Culture Compass" free to discover and prioritize the values that guide your decisions; visit storytellerschannel.com/culturecompass.
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