“I must know one thing,” the king replied, “and tell me the truth.”…

Businessweek ran a story in last week’s edition titled, ” – “The Lies We Tell at Work :Why dishonesty thrives at the office” by reporter Christopher Bonanos. Part of his story has a side window that details a number of places and times when it is okay to tell a lie.  These came from David Wescott’s drawing from Janine Driver, author of “You Can’t Lie to Me” and Carol Kinsey Goman, author of a new book titled, “The Truth About Lies in the Workplace”.  The sidebar says that in these areas that “workplace dishonesty is the best policy”:

• You have to discuss appearance
• You hope to avoid injury
• You hate kids (talking about bring your kids to work day)
• You’re negotiating a salary
• You’re terrified of your boss
• You’re leaving the company

Really? I am in no way dismissing that “white lies” are not a tacitly accepted way of work, but that doesn’t make it right. Companies that accept less than the truth, even at the smallest levels and think that wink-wink is okay to take care of a difficult conversation, or smoothing over the discomfort that comes from confronting conflict will find themselves with a culture where the line moves further and further away from telling the truth.  Companies that don’t tell the truth to each other miss the opportunities to make better decisions and to avoid mistakes and sidesteps. It’s harder to find examples of companies who speak the truth consistently and at all costs culturally, but they are there and they are worth emulating.  Can we even honestly say to ourselves that we hold our companies and our people accountable for full and transparent truth and not accepting even a “white lie”.

Please know I write this as guilty as anyone in this area.  The “white-lie” is so easy to manufacture and say that they can become part of our daily conversations.  A good test for me is that when confronted with that moment, if the words that come in our minds are the easy ones to say, then they should be checked before saying them.  The truth is usually in the uncomfortable and come with a moment that needs thoughtful consideration.  It is in that moment that we can’t take the easy way out.  A “white-lie” is not “white” to God and not to others who see right through them. Our example to others and our purpose to bring glory to God in our work is too important and critical to allow a “white lie” to tarnish or ruin the work that God wants to do through us.

Reference: 2 Samuel 14:8 (New Living Translation)