The Lion with A Bad Breath

 I was recently attending a training session where the facilitator made an interesting point about feedback. He said that feedback is not something you collect for the sake of collecting it. It is not a box to tick. The purpose of feedback is improvement. It is about understanding what is working, what is not, and what can be done differently.

That reminded me of a story I had read some time ago.

There was once a lion whose lioness told him that he had bad breath. The lion didn't like hearing this and decided to verify it with his trusted counsellors.

The first to arrive was the sheep. The sheep bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I am sorry to say this, but your breath smells awful." The lion was furious. He immediately pounced on the sheep and killed him.

Next came the wolf. Having witnessed what happened to the sheep, he decided to play safe. "My Lord," said the wolf, "your breath smells as fresh as the spring breeze." The lion knew the wolf was lying. Angry at being deceived, he pounced on the wolf and killed him too.

Finally came the fox. The fox was observant. He had seen what happened to both the sheep and the wolf. When the lion asked him the same question, the fox started sniffing, coughing, and rubbing his nose. "Your Majesty," he replied, "I have a terrible cold today. My nose is blocked, and unfortunately, I am unable to answer your question." The lion accepted the explanation and let the fox go.

The traditional moral of the story is often about being clever and diplomatic. But when I think about it today, I see a different lesson altogether.

The lion was not ready for feedback.

The sheep gave honest feedback, perhaps too bluntly. The wolf chose manipulation over honesty. And the fox simply chose silence.

Isn't that what happens in our workplaces and relationships too?

When people give us honest feedback and we react defensively, we may not pounce on them like the lion did, but we may become distant, irritated, or dismissive. The message people receive is clear: "Don't tell me things I don't want to hear."

Then come the wolves. People who tell us only what we want to hear. They protect themselves by giving praise instead of truth. It feels good initially, but it doesn't help us grow.

And eventually, we get the foxes. People who stop giving feedback altogether. They observe that honesty isn't welcomed and decide that silence is the safer option.

The result?

We lose access to valuable information about ourselves.

Feedback is not just about asking for opinions. It is a mindset. It is the ability to remain calm when someone points out something we may not like. It is the willingness to pause before rejecting what we hear.

Will every piece of feedback be accurate? Of course not.  Will every person express it skillfully? Not always.

But every piece of feedback contains an observation. Something that someone noticed. Something worth considering.

You may not agree with it today. You may not even like it. But if you sit with it, reflect on it, and examine it honestly, you might discover something useful tomorrow.

The goal of feedback is not to make us feel good. The goal of feedback is to help us become better.

And that can only happen when we create an environment where the sheep can speak honestly, the wolves don't feel the need to flatter, and the foxes don't feel the need to stay silent.I think this blog connects beautifully with your themes of learning agility and continuous growth: the moment people stop giving us feedback is often the moment our growth starts slowing down.