In honor of Halloween, here are some scary numbers from Leadership IQ,
a Washington DC based training company who surveyed 3611 employees in the US
and Canada:
· 70% of
American employees say a good, trusting relationship with their boss is the
foundation of job satisfaction
· 53% of American employees are suspicious that their
boss is dishonest
A Globe and Mail
article, “Why
bosses aren’t trusted,” quoted Mark
Murphy, chairman of Leadership
IQ, saying, “When times get tough … focusing on spreadsheets seems a lot
easier than talking to employees. Not only might they get hit with questions
they can’t answer, when their own stress levels are through the roof, the last
thing many managers want is to meet the emotional needs of their employees. But
this precisely the time that employees really need lots of feedback, and they
need it to be very high quality.”
The article also quotes Bernadette Kenny,
Chief Career Officer for Adecco,
saying, “Brutal honesty is the best way to get the message out about bad
business conditions, and many managers don’t want to be the bearers of bad
news.”
Honesty really is the best policy and even better, we
advise leaders to strive for transparency. However, telling the truth does not
have to be “brutal,” and delivering news shouldn’t be seen in terms of “good”
and “bad.” Authentic conversations can be stripped of the sugarcoating, and
still be had with goodwill and compassion. Employees
are adults who understand that things don’t always go well in business or in
life, and what we make of what happens in the world is a choice each of us makes.
The article mentions companies such as HP and General
Electric where employees were told the truth about the state of the
businesses and were engaged in facing the future collectively. This was
ascribed to good leadership and we agree — but it was also due to good
followership by adult employees who understand the circumstances and act
responsibly. They usually do, when given the chance.
It won't serve anyone to continue seeing leadership as a set of techniques used
to influence others. Leadership should be an act of engaging others in
determining a collective future. True leadership starts from an authentic view
that ‘we are all in this together.’ Consciously and mindfully living this out makes telling the
truth easier. And telling the truth leads to trust and authentic relationships
— and better business results.
Authentic conversations about the business are essential for
continuous improvement, and even more necessary when times are tough. Think
about it: Would you rather have anxious employees armed with accurate
information contributing to the future of the company? Or fearful employees who
are stumbling in the dark and filling in the blanks with wild guesses and
rumors?
Leaders who are dishonest or leave their employees in the
dark? Now that’s scary.
JAMIE