A friend suggested that I write about the question: "Should leaders always be honest and tell the truth?"

It seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it, that honesty should be the best policy? However, being truthful has consequences for leaders that should be considered before putting your foot in your mouth.

Candor and honesty can be overdone. What do I mean?

Ellen had worked for Dave for more than a year before transferring to another division in the company. After the new division reorganized, she realized that she no longer had a place there and asked her former boss, Dave, if she could return. Dave's feedback was honest, but also overly harsh. Dave said, among other things: "I can't take you back. You have a reputation for being insensitive and arrogant, which will undermine what we're doing here."

Was Dave being honest? Probably. But his candor was so harsh that it became a problem in itself. Overly candid, albeit honest feedback can erode the confidence of subordinates and may cause them to react defensively.

My son's plant manager announced just before Christmas that of the 600 plus line workers, 100 of them would be laid off after the holidays.

Was the plant manager telling the truth? Yes. But his truthfulness was not appropriate for the circumstance. Telling all the line workers that some of them would be laid off only served to create uncertainty, anxiety, and fear in them all, particularly at that time of the year. Brutal honesty may cause more harm than good.

When leaders believe that honesty, truthfulness, and candor are absolutes and don't recognize shades of grey, they may fail to consider the consequences of their words.

The question for leaders is not whether or not they should be honest, truthful, and candid, but what degree of each they should employ, given the circumstance.

In the examples above, for instance, it would have better if Ellen's former boss, Dave, had said: "Ellen, I have some concerns, stemming from the reputation you have across the firm, which cause me to wonder whether I should accept you back into the group. If you want, we can talk about what I've heard and what it means."

And, my son's plant manager might have said: "I know that all of you are wondering whether there are going to be more layoffs or not. Unfortunately, the current situation is such that we're going to have to make further cuts in our labor force. I have asked HR to talk to those who will be released as soon as possible. We should be finished with those conversations in the next two days. I can't foresee what the future will bring, more changes may be inevitable. For now, all of us need to be focusing on what we can be doing to ensure that we're operating as efficiently as possible."

Are these the only way to handle these issues? Of course not. You may have preferred another way. However, the key point is that whichever way you choose must take into consideration the consequences of your words.

Honesty, truthfulness, and candor can be overdone. As a leader, there are circumstances requiring you to be less absolute and more nuanced in your use of honesty, truthfulness, and candor.

What do you think they are?

David Brooks wrote in the NY Times: "In the process of absorbing the rules of the institutions we inhabit, we become who we are."

He argues that institutions, such as the businesses in which we spend our working lives, play a huge role in shaping us.

If that is so, then it is critically important for leaders to shape the cultures of our companies consciously and thoughtfully in order to influence the people who choose to work for us.

What are you doing, right now, to create the kind of workplace culture that determines what the people who work for you will become?

Leonard Bernstein, the composer and conductor, said: "To achieve great things two things are necessary - a plan and not enough time."

Leaders sometimes don't take action because they believe there is not enough time to do what's needed. Perhaps, as Bernstein implies, the question is not about having more time but about having the drive, the urgency, and the impatience required to get great things done now, despite the time constraints.

What actions have you postponed, due to lack of time, that could be accomplished with more urgency and impatience?

email: archie@archietinelli.com archie@archietinelli.com