In corporate life, the absence of truth has become the accepted norm.
We don’t tell the truth in many business areas – budgets, financial reports, advertising, public relations, labeling, contract negotiations, resumes, performance reviews and expense reports, to name a few. And the accepted wisdom is that to tell the truth in these situations would be naïve. So today, fibbing has become part of the corporate culture in most organizations.
Why do we lie?
Usually it is because
- We want to make ourselves appear bigger than we are, or,
- We do not want to disappoint or hurt someone.
But there is a paradox here, isn’t there? When we are “found out” (and in the digital age, this is almost certain to happen) the effect is the opposite: we appear smaller, and we disappoint and hurt others.
Inspiring leaders don’t mess with the truth – they tell it like it is, and always in an inspiring way. We LOVE truthtellers Indeed, we are all yearning for leaders that tell the truth – in politics, business, and in our personal lives.
Want to show up as an inspiring leader that others respect and love? Make a commitment to tell the truth yourself and invite your team to do the same. Make it a mutual compact and commit to raising the bar together. Of course, we are never going to tell the truth all the time, but we can do much better – and that will inspire everyone.
Hey Lance I was with you right up until your last line…”Of course we are never going to tell the truth all the time.” What?
Once a non-truth teller, always Branded a non-truth teller. There is no halfway.
Well, I will not claim to tell the truth ALL the time. Is there any human being who has? Even Mother Teresa, it is said, did not tell the truth ALL the time, just most of the time. As I have written elsewhere, “There is only one truth, but many ways to see it.” Given the way things are, I would settle, in the short term, for a significant improvement in truthfulness and truthtelling, even if it is not perfection.
Lance: I have always been a truth-teller. As a result I had amazing understanding and loyalty from my teams, yet it was mostly my leaders who had difficulty with me telling the truth. However, regardless of the proverbial “slings & arrows” which were sent my way by these “illusionists” who were able to alter reality and try to make the truth disappear, I would stand my ground. At the end of the day, having integrity is important to one’s reputation. And I always said “You can get another job, but never another reputation.”
Well put Patricia.
Ahhh this is such an important aspect of inspiring leadership. When I worked in organization I detested the veneered stories, the secrecy and politics that springs from it. This causes people to cover they backs, not be engaged and simple work becomes complex.
Many a times I was called into organizations to solve technical problems, but the real problem was almost always leadership. Telling the truth and creating trust, banishing fear are the corner stones of a great organization.
To be an inspiring leader, truth telling is imperative in building trust. As you put it Lance, when you are found out, (and you will) you will loose all credibility. Thanks for the post.