1   •   THE CALLOUT

“You have a problem,” Theo said. The lines of his face, so recently animated with laughter, now lay still. “And it’s a problem we have to address if you two are going to make it here at Zagrum.”

The words were met by stunned silence from the room’s other occupants, Ana Rivera and Tom Callum. They had both heard about the two-day, closed-door orientation led by Theodore Jefferson for new leaders at Zagrum, but neither of them had anticipated it going like this.

Panic flitted across Tom’s face, replaced almost instantly by a guarded, wary look. His mind raced back four months to the day he’d been laid off from his previous company, and his hands clenched the armrests of his chair.

Across the table, Ana had taken a short, involuntary breath. Her face went pale, and her brown eyes flickered from Theo’s wire-rimmed glasses to Tom’s closed expression. She’d been afraid something like this would happen.

Ana opened her mouth to respond, but Tom cut her off. “What do you mean, Theo? We’ve only been here a month.”

Stifling her annoyance, Ana quickly added, “Of course, we’re still working out the kinks with all the merger details. And figuring out how to best coordinate our teams has been a bit…” She glanced again at Tom’s scowl. “Challenging.” To put it mildly, she thought.

“The problem is bigger than the merger,” Theo replied, his deep voice gentle. “And a month has been plenty of time to see it.” He didn’t enjoy provoking discomfort, but he had to get their attention.

“You are Zagrum’s newest leaders,” Theo continued, “and you’re joining us at a busy time for the company. I know you’re still getting the lay of the land and that your teams need you. But facing this problem is more important.” Theo looked at Ana. “It’s more important than Tom’s implementation timeline, as crucial as that is for our new product line to succeed. And,” he said, turning to Tom, “it’s more important than hitting the ambitious sales numbers Ana’s team has established, as much as we need to turn over inventory and reach our revenue targets.”

“All right,” Tom said brusquely, trying to cover his nerves and look proactive. “Let’s get to it then. What’s the issue here? Tell us what we need to do differently.”

Theo laughed, a quick thunderclap of sound. “I wish it were that simple.”

The frown on Tom’s face deepened.

“This problem doesn’t have an easy fix,” Theo continued. “It’s at the root of all organizational dysfunction. It undermines leadership, stifles innovation, and gets in the way of real collaboration. But despite the issues it causes, the problem is often overlooked and almost always misunderstood. Acting differently isn’t enough to solve it.”

Ana’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand, Theo.”

“That’s okay,” he replied simply. “The problem we’re here to address is called self-deception, and twenty years ago it nearly tore Zagrum apart. Lou Herbert was the CEO at the time, and he and his team barely managed to turn things around. Since then, understanding and mitigating self-deception has been a key strategic priority for the company.”

“So what is it?” Ana asked, keeping her voice level but internally bracing for the worst.

“And how do you know it’s an issue for us?” Tom said, his arms folded.

Theo acknowledged Ana’s question with a nod, then met Tom’s gaze. “Because,” he said, smiling, “I have the same problem.”