Punished For Honesty

Being honest means being truthful, fair, sincere or frank.   It is being free from deceit or fraud.   It is in big demand these days, yet may be in short supply.

Being honest carries big risk. The truth can hurt.    Not everyone likes honest people.  Sometimes we don’t even like ourselves when we think about being honest.  Honesty triggers inner conflict as we find ourselves torn between what we want to do, what we should do, what others want us to do and what we ultimately will do.

Being honest, particularly in business (or in love for that matter) is not the best way to win popularity contests.   We aren’t always “rewarded” for doing or saying the right or truthful thing.   In fact, sometimes we seem unfairly punished.

But what is the flipside of dishonesty?   Well, if you are a parent like I am, you know this:  Your kids see right through you and quickly point out your “lie.”

But what about in the work environment?  If you are an executive at a company, a salesperson, a teacher or working in any other walk of life—being dishonest ultimately has serious repercussions;  some that may never go away.   Once we have lost credibility, it is very hard to regain the belief of others.   Sometimes the doubt can be triggered by something as simple as erring through “overpromising and not delivering.”   Markets, shareholders, customers and partners can be swift in casting their vote away from our businesses once dishonesty is in the air.   The distaste is palpable.

Today, there are all sorts of laws designed to keep us honest.   Sarbanes-Oxley was an interesting effort to make “honesty” more governmentalized and legalized.   But certainly, it’s not an answer.   There were always plenty of laws in place that made forging books and selling bridges owned by others illegal.   Common sense says that a good look at the state of the current economic mess we are in is a clear indication that it’s not law or greater government that we need.    It’s greater personal responsibility –which begins with being honest at the individual level.

Society, parents, organizations, groups of any kind don’t always reward “doing the right thing.”   But I think we can all agree, that the scars of doing the wrong thing, come with a very high price.

So today, think about how you can personally begin to rebuild the credibility that so many people think is lacking in the business world today:  a lack of credibility that everyone gets lumped into whether good, bad or ugly.  If we each, individually, commit to do our best, to deliver our message with candor and to be frank with the realities of any situation or circumstance—we might not always be liked, but I’ll venture to say that we’ll be respected.

Excellence does not come without a price.   But, high standards, leading with  honesty in message,  will increase our likelihood of better relationships with employees, partners, clients and everyone else we interact with on a daily basis in this game called Life.