During my 12 years as a military leader, I saw many managers fail to meet the organization’s needs, and it wasn’t because of their lack of skills. Their willingness to speak the truth made them succeed, even if it took them outside their comfort zone and offended people along the way. Honest leaders have a powerful effect on the people around them and the organization they belong to.
The most fascinating effect honest leaders have on business teams is how fast they can foster a culture of transparency. Honesty is contagious, and this core value can easily rub off on the rest of the team. Honest leaders can help maintain high moral and ethical standards by being good role models.
In this article, we will talk about the significant effects honest leaders can have on their team, including how they can influence teamwork, accountability, and loyalty. We will also discuss how honest leadership can pave the way to a better team reputation, higher employee retention rates, and crisis prevention. Let’s begin!
Why Is Being Honest Important as a Leader?
Being honest is important as a leader because this allows you to establish a transparent, efficient, and collaborative team. Your honesty will inspire your team members to follow your lead and put a premium on trust and integrity. An honest leader is someone the team can emulate and trust.
Honesty in leadership has a powerful influence on a business. Here are 7 of the most fascinating effects honest leaders can have on their team:
1. Honest Leaders Are Contagious
The way a leader thinks and acts affects the entire organization. They occupy a significant space within the limelight and must always keep in mind that the team looks up to them as a role model. When leaders act with honesty and integrity, there’s a high probability that these core values will resonate and set the tone throughout the entire organization.
Team members will be inspired to follow your lead and act more graciously, responsibly, and judiciously. If you establish high moral and ethical standards for the team by setting good examples, you’ll create a transparent, collaborative culture in the organization where everyone works synergistically and efficiently toward common goals.
I saw this happen firsthand when I worked with my military bomb disposal team. One team leader in my platoon would often stay away from sharing all the necessary details. Instead, there would be a manipulation of what actually happened. Everyone on that team was often very approving and agreeable during meetings but would later, behind closed doors, share their real thoughts.
This team didn’t take long until it broke up, and individuals went on separate paths.
On the other side, most of the teams I worked next to felt almost forced to be honest, as if something big depended on it, maybe even existential in some sense. These leaders put honesty and integrity at the top of the podium, and their teammates would do the same.
Those were the teams that stuck together and were able to perform!
2. Honest Leaders Boost Team Collaboration
People are more willing to work with honest leaders than those they deem devious and deceitful. They know that they’re in good hands and they can speak their mind when they need to. Honest leaders don’t keep their team members in the dark, especially when it comes to setting goals and laying out plans.
Employees also know that they can trust the answer that is given to them, even if the questions are uncomfortable or threatening to the leader. This increases the chance of teammates speaking up and sharing new thoughts or ideas. I mean, if you don’t trust the answer, why ask the question?
Another reason people value cooperating and working with honest leaders is they can learn a lot from them. Leaders who favor openness and transparency are more willing to share their time, knowledge, and expertise with their team. They are enthusiastic about guiding and supporting team members to help them achieve self-improvement and advancement in their careers.
3. Teams Want To Go Over and Beyond for Honest Leaders
Honest leaders tend to quickly earn their team’s loyalty and trust. When their leader is sincere and ethical, team members are inspired to go the extra mile in finishing their tasks and making their leader feel proud and satisfied with their accomplishments.
Honest leaders motivate their teams to go beyond their comfort zone and always aim for excellence. This results in better efficiency and higher productivity for the team. Employees can focus more on getting the job done, improving their skills, and acquiring more relevant experiences, all for the sake of helping the business prosper.
The employees also know and feel that the feedback given to them is not given because of manipulation but rather a reflection of the leader’s honest observations of their behavior.
4. Honest Leaders Encourage Team Accountability
Honest leaders are not afraid to show their vulnerable side to their team. They are willing to admit mistakes, acknowledge shortcomings, and work on their flaws. They are eager to show their team that they’re also a work in progress, diligently working toward self-improvement. Leading and managing a team doesn’t mean you have to feign faultlessness. On the contrary, you will be more effective if your team members find you relatable.
This kind of attitude encourages team members to adopt the same mindset. It opens the lines of communication and creates an engaging, transparent atmosphere where team members feel they can safely explore their talents and skills, recognize their weaknesses, and acknowledge faults.
5. Honest Leaders Establish a Solid Team Reputation
A team built on honesty and trust exudes professionalism and integrity. In today’s modern world where reputation can easily make or break a business, creating a positive image is crucial to survival, growth, and success.
Effectively leading and managing a team means you have to set standards and boundaries. Honest leaders set the tone for how the team handles different scenarios — accomplishing tasks, tackling obstacles, facing crises, or handling clients. When you set the bar high, your team will learn to always aim for excellence in whatever they do.
6. Honest Leaders Churn Out Loyal Employees
Leaders who embody honesty can easily forge solid professional relationships with their team members. Your employees will be able to sense your commitment to always having the team’s best interests at heart, and they will reciprocate by going the extra mile when situations call for it.
Loyal employees are great assets to any organization since they keep the business flow seamless and help ensure continuity. Employee retention has a significant impact on a business and low turnover rates indicate good employee morale and high job satisfaction. All these translate to these benefits:
- A skilled workforce. The longevity of employees in a company has a direct relationship to their relevant skills and experiences. Generally, the longer employees stay, the higher their level of expertise.
- Reduced hiring costs. Hiring new individuals involves advertising expenditures, interview costs, and training expenses, to name a few.
- Enhanced client relations. Business continuity might be affected by a high employee turnover, and your clients will certainly take notice. Forging familiarity, rapport, and client loyalty takes time.
- Seamless business operations. Teamwork and collaboration will be affected if you have trouble retaining employees, with personality mixes and varying working styles always threatening to disrupt the flow.
7. Honest Leaders Can Help Prevent Crises
Leading and managing a team calls for transparency, especially when dealing with your workforce. They need to be in the know when it comes to essential aspects of the business, and an impending crisis is certainly one of those situations that require your honest take.
Being transparent and truthful to your employees can help prevent problems for the team and nip potential disasters in the bud. Honest leaders don’t balk at the prospect of offending anyone if the business’ interest is on the line. In return, team members will appreciate the guidance, especially if it is enforced by a leader who isn’t seen as an enemy, but one who has the best intentions for their improvement and advancement.
