Fostering Integrity:Seven Steps to a StraightTalk Culture

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Volume 2, Issue 9

Many leaders believe theypractice StraightTalk by

“telling it like it is.”

t is easy to blame an organiza-tion’s ethical lapses on rogue in-dividuals, the CEO or the

Board. But in our experience, manyfailures of integrity reflect a more fun-damental flaw: organizations’ difficul-ty in surfacing and appropriately ad-dressing important issues. Without aculture of doing so, people hide badnews, accept questionable businesspractices, play games with budgetsand allow individual agendas to setthe course.

At one extreme, the unwillingnessto raise and respond to potentiallychallenging issues allows scandals likeEnron and Worldcom to grow unim-peded. But equally troublesome, it al-so bypasses smaller ethical lapses –such as backroom lobbying with apeer to get one’s needs met or bully-ing a subordinate to accomplish atask – that can erode a company’sability to grow, innovate and createsustained value.

Improving integrity lies in creating aculture in which issues are readily sur-faced, discussed and addressed. A cul-ture in which openness to ideas,whether mainstream or contrarian, isencouraged instead of resented. Inshort, enhancing integrity lies in es-tablishing a StraightTalk culture thatis consistently applied with all stake-holders: employees, customers, invest-ors and others.

StraightTalk and IntegrityStraightTalk is direct, open, respect-

ful dialogue about significant issues.Without exception, every client withwhom we have worked recognizes thevalue of StraightTalk. Yet each alsorated his or her organization as lessproficient at StraightTalk than at anyother attribute of value-creation – lowerthan external orientation, continuouslearning or teamwork orientation.

StraightTalk fosters integrity by re-quiring individuals to raise issues ofconcern. It demands that they offertheir perspectives in an environmentwhere everyone listens and is heard. Asa result, StraightTalk builds a culturein which matters related to how eachindividual and the organization con-ducts its affairs – with subordinates,peers and supervisors; customers andsuppliers; the community, competi-tors and others – are openly raised,

considered and managed.How can leaders establish and oper-

ationalize a StraightTalk culture? Tryimplementing the following founda-tional principles.

1. Dialogue, Not MonologueMany leaders believe they practice

StraightTalk by “telling it like it is.”Regardless of how reasonable or com-pelling such monologues may be,monologues do not encourage peopleto come forward and express theirviews on challenges and opportunities,or raise questions about ethical practi-ces.

In contrast, StraightTalk is tellingand hearing it like it is. The moreleaders at all levels engage in dialogue,the more empowered people feel tovolunteer concerns and suggest ideasfor addressing them, and the moreothers will weigh in to help developeffective strategies.

2. Listen ActivelySuccessful StraightTalk requires en-

suring that information and opinionsare both surfaced and heard. Too of-ten, individuals repeatedly articulatetheir ideas without clarifying that oth-ers understand them and/or are speak-ing the same language. Doing boththrough active listening is essential be-fore closing a topic and agreeing onimplementation steps.

“There is no such thing as aminor lapse of integrity.”

~ Tom Peters

© 2005 Higgins Kreischer & Associates

Active listening can be as easy astranslating someone’s point back tothem (“If I understand correctly, youare saying _____.”) or encouragingthem to build on your idea.

3. From Critic to ChampionStraightTalk improves attitudes, be-

haviors and decisions to help peopleachieve better results through more ef-fective collaboration. That is why aStraightTalk culture demands that lead-ers transform from critics to champions,and also recognize and act on the differ-ence between rights and responsibilities.

Simply put, critics find flaws; cham-pions focus on improvement. For exam-ple, although your position or expertisemay give you the “right” to criticize anidea as stupid, doing so may be irre-sponsible. It is also a serious breach ofStraightTalk, because such criticismquickly squashes dialogue.

In a StraightTalk culture, your re-sponsibility is to actively and positivelyparticipate in an iterative process thatcreates the best possible outcome – inother words, to be a champion. Whenpresented with an idea with which youdisagree (and which may indeed beflawed), you articulate the basis of yourdisagreement and suggest an alternativefor further discussion.

4. Speak Up – RespectfullyStraightTalk requires that leaders put

their issues, information and opinionson the table. Remaining silent becauseeveryone else has expressed an opinionsimilar – or contrary – to yours is unac-ceptable. In a StraightTalk culture,weighing in on important issues is thevehicle through which you participatein recognizing and responding to issues,and improving decisions.

How you drive that vehicle is crucial.The behavioral equivalent of runningred lights or cutting drivers off commu-nicates that you respect neither individ-uals nor their ideas, which shuts downStraightTalk dialogue as effectively asflipping a switch. Sharing opinions

honestly but respectfully is critical to asuccessful StraightTalk culture.

5. Encourage ParticipationOrganizations pursuing StraightTalk

can easily fall into the trap of mistakinga few frequent voices for a StraightTalkculture. As a leader, you need to activelyencourage others to join the discussion,even going so far as to personally askthem to participate. Some individualsmay initially resist, but usually joinwhen it becomes clear that you and theteam value their input.

Above all, your behavior is the mostpowerful tool for creating a StraightTalkculture. Explain to your organizationwhat StraightTalk is, how it works andwhy it is so important. Then go and“live” StraightTalk. When your behav-ior is not up to StraightTalk standards,admit it, apologize and try again. Othersthroughout the organization will modelyour behavior, each spreading Straight-Talk through their own groups andteams.

6. Foster Diversity,Reward Disagreement

Diversity is especially important in ourfast-paced global climate, which presentsissues that are much too complex for ho-mogeneous thinking. Indeed, today’sbest decisions represent the broadestrange of perspectives offered in an atmos-phere that combines constructive disa-greement with building on ideas to forgebetter solutions.

Rewarding conflict is one of the bestways to surface diverse opinions and en-courage healthy arguments about them.Simply thanking someone for presentinga dissenting view can be very effective, as

is a personal call from the CEO to thankan individual who raises ethical concerns.

7. Clarify Authorities andAccountabilities

StraightTalk can be extremely valua-ble in reducing and even ending turfwars. Try using it to clarify individuals’ranges of authority and responsibilityfor expected results, identify required re-lationships and resources, and foster dis-cussions about how people can cooper-ate to accomplish tasks that fall intoboth of their areas.

The key to resolving cross-functionalissues is keeping the problem-solving fo-cused on advancing the organization’sstrategic priorities. In a StraightTalkculture, addressing these and other thor-ny issues such as budgeting is usuallyvery different from other organizations.Instead of the typical “get-as-much-as-I-can” approach, open, frank discussionsof what each group needs to achieve itsobjectives often results in managers re-linquishing budget to areas that are bothmore needy and more likely to have astrategic impact.

StraightTalk has the greatest effect onan organization’s ethics when people useit to improve outcomes. The more seri-ously people take their obligation tospeak up, and the more they recognizethat their contributions will be treatedwith respect, the more energy they in-vest in forthright, respectful collabora-tion in pursuit of better results.

The integrity of every organizationthat lacks the culture and/or process tosurface and address significant issues isat risk. Not all of these will face disasteras a result, yet even the small breachesthat are commonplace in non-Straight-Talk cultures can have a significant neg-ative influence over time. StraightTalkoffers more than enhanced integrity. Asit fosters win-win decisions, Straight-Talk also reinforces the teamwork re-quired to create lasting value and long-term success.