Are Clinton and Trump leaders or liars?

Are Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton the liars their opponents like to paint them as? 

Both candidates have been called out on Politifact.com for their ‘false’ or ‘mostly false’ statements, although like many politicians they seem to believe that the more something is said the more true it becomes.

Charles M. Blow, writing in the New York Times, provides some examples of what he calls Donald Trump making up false facts: “[Trump] wildly exaggerated the number of immigrants in this country illegally and ‘inner city’ crime rates. He said President Obama founded ISIS and that ‘the Obama administration was actively supporting Al Qaeda in Iraq, the terrorist group that became the Islamic State.’ He said, ‘I watched in Jersey City, N.J., where thousands and thousands of people were cheering’ as the World Trade Center collapsed.”

Over in The New Yorker, David Remnick argues, “Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for President, does not so much struggle with the truth as strangle it altogether. He lies to avoid. He lies to inflame. He lies to promote and to preen. Sometimes he seems to lie just for the hell of it. He traffics in conspiracy theories that he cannot possibly believe and in grotesque promises that he cannot possibly fulfill. When found out, he changes the subject — or lies larger.” 

Does it bother you when a politician lies, or mangles the truth? Or have you sadly resigned yourself to the cynical view that there is no such thing as a truthful politician?

I have watched from afar with fascination, wondering how long we will tolerate this apparent disregard for the truth. Now, however, I find myself wondering if this is symptomatic of a deeper confusion about what actually constitutes truth.

It seems in our efforts to accomodate and respect everyone’s right to their own truth, we must therefore extend that right to leaders who want to promote their version of the truth.

Is Donald Trump, therefore, the epitome of the view that ‘Truth is what I say it is’? 

People who think truth is ‘what I believe’ can ignore anything that contradicts their truth, change their mind seamlessly without a shadow of doubt, and calmly stick to their version of the ‘facts’ in the face of a barrage of questioning. It’s not that they are being obstructive or obtuse. It’s not that they are telling lies (in their mind). They remain completely blind to their cognitive bias and hence can pass a lie detector without so much as a wiggle of the needle. Their mind just cannot accomodate an alternative argument.

Donald Trump, therefore, is not the problem. We are. We are the ones who have accepted the view that truth is relative, and so ‘your truth’ is as equally valid as ‘my truth’. Hence Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, and all the other politicians in the world, tell no lies. They merely provide their version of the truth. And when more people believe one than the other, then that person will find themselves in the White House.

Truth is not simply what I happen to think. Truth is what is so, independently of me thinking it. Truth guarantees freedom. An objective standard for facts guards us against the whims and fancies of those who would like to imprison us in their own limited worldview.

How do leaders know what is true?

While this needs to be the subject of a much longer piece, here is a simple approach you can use in any situation:

1. Start from openness to truth. You need humility to recognise and accept alternative points of view and self-awareness to recognise your own biases.
2. Question the data. What is the information you are relying on? Who or what is the source of that information? Am I overlooking or ignoring other data, particularly that which may challenge my perspective?
3. Question your understanding. What meaning did you attribute to the data? Did others look at the same data and understand it differently? What is their perspective?
4. Question your judgement. What conclusions did you reach? Do you have a good track record of wise judgements, that allows you to fully trust yourself?
5. Having reached a conclusion, remain open to new data and new insights that could allow an alternative conclusion.

Leaders who do not stand for the truth will fall for anything. Leaders who do not appreciate what is true, usually make self-serving decisions based on emotion and ego, rather than careful study and wise reflection on relevant data.

Are we more tolerant of lies told in the pursuit of power, or is this just my own bias?

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Anthony Howard 

I am focused on building a more human world one leader at a time. I am a CEO, entrepreneur, thought leader, philosopher and author who has made a life out of questions.

People call me the ‘CEO Whisperer.’ As a mentor and coach I help leaders navigate complex, demanding environments so they can perform and lead at their best.

My colleagues and I design human-centred organisations, provide immersive Retreats for individual leaders and/or their teams, deliver ongoing coaching and mentoring through times of transition, and develop leadership capability throughout organisations, with a view to helping people become the best they can be, build the best organisations they can build, and so build a better world. This work is based on over a decade of research and consulting, much of which is explained in my book Humanise. Why Human-Centred Leadership is the Key to the 21st Century

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? 2016, Anthony Howard