5 practical ways to build truth-telling cultures at work

Because there are too many leaders who are doing the exact opposite.

[Source Photo: Munch/Adobe Stock]

Telling the truth is good for business. A 2024 research paper shows that an honest culture can boost financial performance by over 20%. And in a 2004 article by  MIT Sloan Management Review, 76% of staff say the honesty of a business affects their decisions on where to work.

We know it matters to organizations. After all, words like “honesty,” “integrity,” and “truthfulness” appear in more than 65% of all corporate value statements.

Unfortunately, just 19% of staff trust that their leaders are telling the truth, according to a 2024 report. Trust is at historic lows, in part because, despite us all saying truth and honesty matter, it’s never been easier to lie and get away with it.

The data show that most of us lie daily. One experiment even found 60% of people lie once every 10 minutes. From AI deep fakes and hallucinations to social media bubbles and rampant political misinformation, we’re living in a world where lies abound, and truth seems rarer every day.

Telling the truth is a behavior, not a value. You’re either doing it, or you’re not. So how do leaders make truth-telling cultures happen in their business? Here are five practical strategies I’ve seen work with teams and clients globally.

There’s no point waiting around for others to go first. If you want a workplace where truth happens, start by doing it yourself. I see workplaces where everyone agrees that they need to have hard, honest conversations, but then sit in awkward silence when it comes time to do it. We don’t have the right to expect from others behaviors that we ourselves are not engaging in.

And not lying isn’t enough, you need to spell out the truth. Ask yourself: what is the most important conversation in my team that isn’t happening? Then find an opportunity to start that conversation.

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