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People Are Our Greatest Human Beings, Not Our Greatest Assets

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It would seem that finding trustworthy and reliable leaders is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. Best-selling author Ron Carucci of the fabulous book To Be Honest agrees.

"The findings are staggering when you think about the trust recession we live in," said Carucci during our wide-ranging interview. "It's in a free-fall everywhere you look. Leaders simply cannot afford to take for granted that trust is not merely earned because of a title or because you think you're trustworthy." After completing a 15-year research study with more than 3,200 leaders about organizational honesty, Carucci is speaking from a position of, well, trust. Our discussion was fascinating.

While trust is critically important, it doesn't just happen out of thin air. "The gap between intent and impact is likely far wider than most leaders think," he said. "Today, to earn the trust of others and be labeled honest, it's more than just telling the truth. What we learned in our research is that the definition of honesty is truth, justice, and purpose. You have to say the right thing, do the right thing, and say and do the right thing for the right reason."

And what if we analyzed this predicament from the lens of a team member? Do we find that leaders are worthy of our trust nowadays? Carucci explained the situation rather well with a clever example. "Leaders can be worthy of trust, but they have to earn it every single day. You don't arrive in a position or at a certain level of accomplishment or a level of experience where you get lifetime membership as you might as a Marriott Platinum Club Member, where you've stayed a million times. It's a renewable daily asset."

"The simplest leadership lesson I can give you," Carucci suggested, "are two fundamental questions: do I matter and do I belong? "He believes that the job as a leader is never to wonder if the answers to those questions are yes. "When the question of 'do I matter?' is forfeited, leaders invest themselves in the counterfeit meaning of 'looking like I matter,' and that's a dangerous game. Now you have people playing games and performing, letting you know how important they are. They're doing all the things that trade in for very false currencies of value."

Making certain leaders treat their people with dignity and respect will help organizations in multiple ways. "If you're treating them like it's just another day at the office," said Carucci, "you're treating them like they don't matter." As a leader, it's essential to not only talk the talk but also to demonstrate your words through action. Leaders need to set the bar high right out of the gate, and they'll then be on a continuous path to success. Leaders are in these positions for a reason - to lead, teach, and care for their people.

Carucci also discovered that there is quite a bit of injustice inside organizations, which aligns with a concept known as moral injury. "Moral injury was first researched with military members," shared Carucci. "The trauma response—the amygdala in our brains—is akin to the atrocities you see in war. We expanded our research to healthcare workers during the pandemic, who were having to make life and death choices. They experienced that same trauma response, and it turns out that all personalized endeavors can experience moral injury." Carucci concluded that if you're not actively on the hunt to root out injustices like moral injury—letting your team members see that you don't care about unfairness—you're willfully turning a blind eye. "Your silence is condoning the gaming of the system," he said.

Interestingly and thankfully for yours truly, Carucci's research indicated that a necessary pillar for an ethical and fairer organizational culture is purpose. He said: "When purpose was activated in actions—not just in words—the organization was three times more likely to have people treating each other fairly and serving the greater good as well."

However, if purpose was not enacted or leaders merely treated the concept as meaningless words on the front lobby wall, Carucci discovered that leaders institutionalized duplicity. "You've now formalized the process of saying one thing and doing another. And you've told people, 'that's okay.'"

Carucci's latest book, To Be Honest, is a rarity on today's bookstore shelves. It is packed with practical and tactical techniques through the pillars of truth, justice, and purpose to build a more honest organization. It is evidence-based through the administration of his 15-year longitudinal research study. More books should contain such rigour.

He left me with something insightful and wise to contemplate: "We need to start by acknowledging that being good humans is a skillset." Indeed it is.

Watch the interview with Ron Carucci and Dan Pontefract in full below or listen to it via the Leadership NOW series podcast.

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Check out my award-winning 4th book, “Lead. Care. Win. How to Become a Leader Who Matters.” Thinkers50 #1 rated thinker, Amy. C. Edmondson of Harvard Business School, calls it “an invaluable roadmap.”Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website or some of my other work here