Radical Honesty in Leadership

Honesty is the best policy

I grew up learning that honesty is the best policy. There is one version of truth — you do not have to keep alternate versions of reality in your head. Even if you are fairly adept at lying (reality is — most of us have) — however, just because you can, does not mean it is not a horrible thing to do. When we were kids — you can spot kids lying outright, however in adult life — things are not so black and white. At work, most of the time people are not lying. However, they are just bending the truth to suit their own agenda. These are what I will call “half truths”

Half truths damage trust

These half truths may not be spotted by all, or even all the time. However when people do spot their leaders bending the truth or telling half truths — it chips away at the trust they have in leadership. And, its not just about leaderships — its true of most relationships. Such things chip away at the strength of human relationships. And —we extrapolate from these mistakes — if he lies about this, what else did he lie about? Trust is the foundation of human relationships, work happens much better in a high trust environment. Low trust is sure to kill healthy team dynamics.

Why do we lie? (or half lie)

Lack of courage. Lack of confidence.

But sometimes it originates from a misguided sense that others cannot handle the truth. Such half truths are told with the best of intentions. However — it does the same damage. People spot these — and when they do — they wonder — what else was he lying about?

See — you lied because you thought the team could not handle the truth. Though what happens — is people are worse when they feel they have been lied to, or even half lied to. I have seen people quit when they felt they have not been told the full truth — and they no longer can trust their leaders.

My philosophy: Be radically honest

My personal style is to tell it like it is. In a respectful way. But not by diluting what’s true. Help people make sense of the truth. Help others handle the truth — even when it is not what they want to hear, or when it seems too hard to handle.