When people bemoan the lack of honesty in corporate America, images of Enron, WorldCom and Martha Stewart come to mind. But honesty issues have a significant impact on virtually every workplace in America, says consultant Steven Gaffney.
Author of the new book: Honesty Works! — Real-world solutions to solve the most common problems at work and home<$> (2005 JMG Publishing). Gaffney contends that true honesty in the workplace equates to simple, straightforward communication. That, he contends, is in short supply.
“Honesty in the workplace is not just about truth or lies,” Gaffney notes. “Those issues get the headlines. But the more prevalent problem in business is the lack of open honest communication between co-workers and on every organizational level. ”
Gaffney contends that this “predictable pattern of less-than-straightforward communication” costs businesses and organizations billions of dollars because it contributes to poor decisions, internal conflict, lost productivity, even poor employee retention. It also means employees waste a lot of time dealing with internal problems when they should be focusing on their business.
Gaffney says that his research has shown that the core of most work-related problems can be traced back to the lack of simple, straightforward, honest communication.
One of the most prevalent issues that Gaffney sees in working with corporate clients, is what he calls “the lies of withholding.”
“Whenever someone avoids a festering issue with a co-worker, tells a supervisor only the good news, remains silent when they disagree with a proposed initiative, becomes a ‘yes-man’ with superiors to curry favor, or complains to someone, other than the person they have an issue with, they are being dishonest,” asserts Gaffney.
In his book, Gaffney highlights common situations and scenarios, familiar to both workers and managers. He shows how the core is related to non-direct or avoided issues and helps individuals armed with that new perspective to address the issue and move forward.
If you think that Gaffney is a new breed of crusading altar-boy — think again. He’s too honest to pretend that.
“I’m not coming from any moral high ground,” Gaffney offers. “I am as flawed as anyone else. But what I’ve found in my years of research and experience in working with organizational and interpersonal dynamics in the workplace is that honesty works. That’s really the source of the title of my new book. When all else fails, try honesty,” Gaffney suggests. “Because it works!”
Speaking of honesty, this note is from press release written by the good folks at Gaffney’s company in Falls Church, Va. and at www.stevengaffney.com. Honesty Works! is available by going to http://www.honestyworks.net.
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