Last week, we talked about a value you cannot achieve true and lasting success without, and that is integrity.

Today, we are going to dive further into one of the most important aspects of integrity: honesty.

You know that honesty is the best policy, as they say. But what you may not know is why forthrightness is so important within a business, especially for its leaders.

Of course, it’s important to be honest for honesty’s sake. As an upstanding person, you want to be truthful in both your personal and professional interactions. Repeated throughout the Bible are reminders of the importance of being honest, even included as one of the Ten Commandments.

Ephesians 4:25 tells us, “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”

But the reasons to remain honest as a professional goes beyond virtue and values. Let’s break down the reasons why honesty is important as a business leader, as well as tips for maintaining truthfulness in all situations.

Company Culture

You want others to be honest, so it’s imperative that you set the standard as a leader. By acknowledging areas where you’ve messed up or could do better, you’re establishing a precedent that employees can follow suit. Beyond that, holding yourself accountable to your words and your actions is critical to earning the respect of those who report to you, and sets a tone for mutual respect for those who do the same.

Otherwise, you create a culture of over-selling and under-delivering. And when that’s your culture inside the company, your reputation is quickly ruined outside your company. No one wants to work with a business that can’t keep its word.

In order to create a culture of truth-telling, state honesty as one of your core company values publicly, both to your employees and on your website and/or branding.

Avoiding Bigger Problems

Sometimes the reason professionals slip away from honesty is they don’t want to be the “squeaky wheel,” holding up a process because they see a problem others aren’t noticing. It might even be that they don’t lie; they simply aren’t forthright about an issue. When this happens, it often leads to bigger problems down the road—problems that could have been avoided if there had been a culture of honesty set by the top.

“Honesty is the fastest way to prevent a mistake from turning into a failure.” –James Altucher

Encourage your team to speak up when they see potential issues, and make sure you do the same. Some companies even formalize a process for this that includes incentives and rewards when voicing an unpopular opinion helps the business in the long run.

A Slippery Slope

Often, professionals start out with the ideal of 100% honesty at all times. But there are times when the easier, more pleasant path would be a white lie or omitting part of the truth. Over time, an untruth here and a white lie there soon become a situation where lying is a regular part of the business model.

Each little lie makes the next one easier to tell. Before you know it, you’ve built a house of cards that can come tumbling down with a slight breeze. Don’t end up down that slippery slope. By keeping honesty as one of your core values both as a company and personally, you stay on the straight and narrow path.

Honesty Builds Trust

No one wants to work for a boss who is dishonest with them. The simple reason is that if you can’t believe every word they say, you can’t trust anything they say.

Part of establishing a reputation for integrity is being known for your “word is bond.” People want to do business with leaders who can be trusted to stick to their word. That goes for clients and customers who depend on you, as well as employees who look to you for accurate information so that they can perform their jobs well.

At Celeste Giordano Coaching, I teach my clients the strategies that are foundational for building a legacy business that can be trusted for generations. If you’d like to “double plus” your income this year all while building a reputation for honesty and integrity both with customers and potential employees, contact me today.