I once had a mentor who would say, “The truth is best left untampered.”

Simple, but true.

There have been many times over my time in the business world, where it was easier to lie or dress up the truth, because I didn’t even want to face the truth.

The desire to lie and dress up the truth is prevelant in the world of business and making money. Probably the world as a whole if we are being honest.

Sometimes the truth is not only the hardest pill to swallow, but the hardest thing to serve up.

As a leader one of the hardest things to do, and learn how to do is to just be honest. Say it the way it is, even and especially when the way it is, is not how you want it, or idealistically see it should be.

It’s easy to run from our problems, our fears, and insecurities, but when you do it for too long, you become a dishonest ass who nobody trusts, and as a leader- YOU CAN’T AFFORD FOR PEOPLE NOT TO TRUST YOU.

Hiding, lying, cheating and stealing are common in the world of business- spend any amount of time in competition with anyone on the business battlefield and you will see the darkness of others reveal itself.

It’s interesting to watch, and a ride to experience.

When you are a leader- you will find others dishonestly shocking- but often they are meeting you on the same playing field you met them on. You can’t expect to blow smoke up peoples hind parts and not expect people to return the favor.

When faced with the challenges and realities of business you have a choice to be direct and to the point or to hide, coverup, deceive, spin or lie. It’s easier to lie to yourself and everyone else than it is to be honest.

Honesty, will build bridges, trust and loyalty with your employees, customers and most importantly yourself.

If you struggle to trust others in your world, I think it’s crucial to also look at yourself and what you don’t trust about yourself. Where you were shady, and believe others will be shady as well. It’s an eye opening practice to be sure.

Recently, I was confronted with the nature of lying with a young man, when he told me about a lie he had told his boss, when I asked him why he chose not to tell the truth he said simply, “My story sounded better than the truth.”

Stories are stories, lies are lies, and spin is spin.

When you lead with the truth, no matter how hard it is- you will breed loyalty and trust of those who work for you, and hopefully showing that honesty is a core foundation of how you do life and business, you will also foster an environment of truth tellers, and people who aren’t afraid to face and talk about the hard stuff in the work place.

When you the leader can develop trust with honesty, you will have an unstoppable business at your fingertips.

If you are looking to break free of your prison business and start getting some breathing room and momentum, it’s time for us to talk. Click here to book a call, to discover if I can help you.