The Apes & The Two Travelers
Illustrates Organizational Self-Deception, Flattery Culture, The Risk of Radical Candor
Agile teams thrive on transparency, but not all environments welcome it. Sometimes the truth is dangerous. In systems where image matters more than substance, honesty can carry a cost.
Aesop's fable The Apes and the Two Travelers1 is a sharp cautionary tale about truth-telling in environments that reward flattery and punish honesty.
Two men, one who always spoke the truth and the other who told nothing but lies, were traveling together and by chance came to the land of Apes.
One of the Apes, who had raised himself to be king, commanded that the men be seized and brought before him. He wished to know what was said of him among men.
He ordered that all the Apes be arranged in a long row to his right and to his left, and that a throne be placed for him, as was the custom among human rulers. When all was prepared, the two men were brought before him.
The Ape greeted them and said, “What sort of a king do I seem to you to be, O strangers?”
The Lying Traveler stepped forward. “You seem to be a most mighty king,” he said.
“And what is your estimate of those you see around me?”
“These,” he replied, “are worthy companions of yourself. Fit at least to be ambassadors and leaders of armies.”
The Ape and his court, pleased by this flattery, ordered that a fine gift be given to the liar.
Seeing this, the truthful man thought to himself, If so great a reward is given for a lie, what gift might I earn if I tell the truth, as I always do?
The Ape then turned to him. “And how do I and my friends appear to you?”
The honest man answered, “You are a most excellent Ape, and all these companions are excellent Apes as well.”
At this, the Ape King, enraged by the truth, ordered that the man be torn apart by his court.
Lessons Learned
Culture Decides What Is Safe To Say
The liar was rewarded, the truth-teller punished. In some Agile organizations, teams are praised for optimism and punished for realism. This leads to shallow Daily Scrums, fake commitments, and burned-out teams hiding behind metrics.
Systems Reward The Behavior They Value
The Ape wanted affirmation, not insight. The same happens in organizations that reward compliance more than curiosity. When promotions go to those who say yes rather than those who ask why, psychological safety erodes.
Agile Theater Is Not Agile Thinking
The king mimicked a throne. The court mimicked a team. Agility can be mimicked too. Many teams perform the ceremonies but avoid the core values. Without courage and openness, the process becomes a mask.
Vanity Crowns Itself
The Ape made himself king and surrounded himself with imitations of a royal court. Titles, dashboards, and structure may suggest agility, but culture tells the truth. Agile coaches must look past surface signals and ask, “What actually happens when someone speaks hard truth here?”
Telling The Truth Is Not Always Welcome
The truth-teller assumed that honesty would be valued. But some systems reject reflection because it threatens ego or exposes fragility. Agile coaches must assess readiness before pushing transparency.
Coaching Tips
- Normalize Truth-Telling: Set the tone by modeling truth with kindness. Use liberating structures like “Heard / Seen / Respected” or “What I Need From You” to practice psychological safety.
- Make It Safe to Be Wrong: Build space where people can speak candidly without fear. Retrospectives, 1-on-1s, and pre-mortems are prime moments to lower defensiveness and raise candor.
- Watch Who Gets Rewarded: Observe who is recognized in your system. Are those who challenge respectfully being promoted? Or only those who comply?
- Reframe Feedback as a Gift: Help leaders see that truth is not attack. It is insight. The truth-teller in this parable was not trying to undermine, he was simply honest.
The path to agility runs through the messy territory of truth, trust, and ego. If a system punishes honesty, it cannot grow. Agile coaches are not there to flatter the throne. They are there to help leaders see when the throne is made of sticks.
If teams lie to survive, agility is already gone. Truth-telling is not rebellion. It is responsibility.
