Candor and Leadership: The Truth Works

Candor is missing in many organizations. The absence of directness undermines organizational effectiveness, one relationship at a time.

What prevents so many, with so much to gain, from developing working environments where complete candor is a high priority?

HARD WORK: Honesty takes a lot of effort -- it's harder to tell the truth, particularly when it's awkward or uncomfortable.

FEAR: Fear of conflict, embarrassment, taking an unpopular stance, being wrong, or appearing rude are common reasons people avoid candor each other.

EGO: The desire to be liked / likable / popular can be seductive reasons to skirt the truth.

CONTROL/AMBITION: Attempts to control through manipulation / deception / selective withholding or providing of information can lead someone away from the honest path.

We can imagine many obstacles when facing the prospect of being direct and honest. A candid dialog isn’t possible without some degree of courage.

How can we help someone address a situation where managerial courage is lacking? Certainly there are questions we can ask the person avoiding the candor challenge:

• "What would it take for you to be willing to address this issue directly with the person?”

• “What are the most significant things holding you back from being direct with this person?”

• "How would you feel if you could get the issue on the table, out in the open, and were able to work on it with the person?”

• “What would make you more likely to address it rather than wait?”

• “Will you have to deal with it eventually, even if you delegate it or avoid it in the short term?”

• “By illuminating the issue for the person, what can you do to get them to help fix their own problem?”

The practice of being candid seems relatively simple, yet we each have many reasons NOT to be direct.

Investing the time to support and coach leaders in the effectiveness of candor is a never a waste of time. When one gets the support needed both to face facts about self, problems, relationships, and people, one tends to raise the bar on others and the organization overall, modeling this courage for others.

In short: the truth...it works!

I welcome your comments below on your experience with the role of candor and truth in organizations and leadership!

Thanks,
David Peck

Comments

[Lora Banks]

Hi David:

The list of stories, reasons, and excuses about why we don't have the candid, honest, and transparent conversations in the office is endless. The one I am keying on lately is as you have mentioned here, the investment of time.

It takes time to figure out what it is that may be impacting us and what exactly that impact is. And then there is the time we spend in conversation with ourselves about the how, when, and why to bring up the difficult topics. AND THEN, we have to make space and time for "the conversation." Phew!

However, when I look at the time spent on misunderstandings, putting out fires, crisis management, and conflict resolution, I have to believe that being proactive and candid up front would free up quite a bit of time not to mention productivity in the long run.

In my mind, it is a necessary investment in relationship building, good management, and of course, leadership.

All the best,

Lora

[David Peck]

Hi Lora:

Good to hear from you!

You've sparked me to think about the return on investment, and benefit. That is, when someone is trying to avoid a difficult confrontation, there's an IMMEDIATE return on investment, which is a seemingly peaceful workplace. Where as the ROI of candor can take a while to realize. So there's a kind of positive feedback loop for short-term coping behavior.

Thanks for your excellent feedback!

Warm regards,
David