Lies, half-truths and exaggerations

“I think our core businesses are extremely strong.” – Kenneth Lay, former Enron CEO

 “We don’t sell junk food.” – Don Thompson, CEO, McDonald’s

 “I’m 100% done with booze.” – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

 “Honey, that outfit looks fabulous on you.” – You, to your significant other

 People lie all the time. We lie out of embarrassment, to spare other people’s feelings, to hide the uncomfortable truth, to protect ourselves, to bluff. Business executives are no different. They avoid harsh realities and either stick to platitudes (“employees are our most valuable asset”), or spout half-truths or exaggerations.

A recent Stanford University study examined how executives express themselves. The findings seem to indicate, amongst other things, that dead giveaways for lies are: the frequent use of “we” are “our team” instead of “I” and “me”; the avoidance of phrases such as “shareholder value”; and the use of overly positive adjectives and adverbs, such as “fantastic”.

So how should executives and CEOs conduct themselves? Is it unrealistic to expect the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Is it impossible to not lie?

One executive has decided that it is possible to stick to the truth. Rebekah Campbell, CEO of Posse, a social search network company, makes it her corporate mission to be honest, all the time. Others have adopted as their resolution the mission to be more transparent and truthful.

Corporations can start on the path to honesty one step at a time. If your company’s culture is more about avoidance than constructive feedback, encourage your managers to practice candid conversations within the boundaries of the sacred manager-direct report relationship. The manager holds the direct report to account for the work and provides feedback to the employee. Conversely, the direct report provides best advice to the manager, knowing that it will be respectfully accepted. CEOs need to hold their managers accountable for a culture of honesty.

 Too many walls exist amongst people and some of the hardest to climb are invisible. Let’s get out the battering rams. Let’s start by having truthful conversations.