DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY TO LIE?

“What kind of a question is that?” I hear you ask. Well, according to some studies there are a lot of people who do - consistently.

It seems it’s the same kind of phenomenon that happens when some people get behind the wheel of a car. They behave in ways they never would if they didn’t have the car between them and other people.

And that’s the reason we need to be aware of the tendency and avoid it like the plague.?Because it’s easy to do things we know are wrong when we feel that we’re ‘hidden'.

The fact is, we’re never hidden. There’s always someone watching us. More often than not it’s the people close to us that observe these undesirable traits. They see them. They remember them. They’re influenced by them in one way or another. Whether it’s influenced to not respect us, or whether it’s influencing them to emulate us.?

There’s a lot being said lately about things like authenticity, integrity, whole-person and so on. That’s all good. But, especially as leaders, can we live authentically, with integrity and bring our ‘whole-person’ to work if we aren’t honest?

Previously I wrote about this topic from the point of view of what happens when leaders lie, but after reading again about the Hancock study and the recent replication of that study, it made me stop and think about the ramifications. And how easy it is to fall into the trap of not being aware of the dangers and consequences.?

It’s not a pleasant subject, I know. And most of the leaders I personally know are really genuine and honest. Yet, still, technology does allow us to respond to things quickly and sometimes thoughtlessly. You’ll remember that I wrote about how to make sure that your communications were clear and avoid miscommunication.

Ron Carucci recently released a book titled “To Be Honest” in which he explored the subject in some depth.

The point is, that while not being 100% accurate in what we say (which is an easier pill to swallow than the word ‘lying’) we are diminishing ourselves, our integrity and our influence - and if we care about ourselves and others that’s something we don’t want to do.?Think about all the little things we say and do that aren’t 100% accurate.

Things like making excuses for why we haven’t done something yet. Or why we don’t want to do something. Or why we do want to do something.?Hmmm, makes you think, doesn’t it? ?

If we get caught out, which can easily happen, we’ve destroyed our credibility - which in both business and personal life can be devastating. Sometimes we’re not 100% accurate because we don’t want a confrontation or to hurt someone’s feelings. All good reasons, but we have to find ways to handle those situations without having to say things that aren’t true or omit saying things that we know we need to say.

Let’s just ask ourselves these questions:

What will happen if I lie and get caught out (never mind what will happen to my own self-esteem even if I'm not caught out)??

And what is the worst that will happen if I tell the truth?

Will telling the truth damage our credibility, integrity, authenticity?

It’s something we all face and it’s important to have our own core beliefs and values and stick to them whatever they may be.

Hmmm - what do you think?

What situations have you been in where there has been this kind of moral dilemma and how was it handled? ?

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the topic.

?#Leadership #HybridWork #RemoteWork #Optevo #CWM #business #technology #innovation #integrity #honesty