There is a tremendous amount of talk around the topic of fake news. Even Apple CEO Tim Cook recently called for a massive campaign against it. Fake news goes beyond politics or partisanship; it could be damaging and dangerous to your company’ culture.
But how about the impact this behavior has on leadership and culture?
HR can do something about this
The reality is that trust is sinking and immediate reactions through Twitter or internet are, by and large, taking over the news. HR has to do its job.
In a recent article on why making mistakes deserves respect, we spoke about the Volkswagen scam, the Wells Fargo fraud and the new packaging of the Toblerone chocolate bar. Undoubtedly, these mistakes were very damaging for these companies’ brands. Where HR can help is to get your core values straight and build a culture of trust.
Create a culture of trust
How many times have you sat at meetings agreeing with each other and yet not gotten anything done? Difficult conversations are hard to sustain among peers; so is tacit collusion between executives refusing to criticize each other publicly. However, when you instill a climate of open communication and transparency, you will get employees to speak their mind and express their disagreement. Plain and simple.
When decisions taken during a meetings are fake, it’s as bad as fake news are. It creates confusion and distrust. Even real decisions get viewed as shady and suspect. When you foster a culture of transparency, you get your employees to listen more because you get them the facts. It’s no longer lip service leadership.
A culture of transparency means a culture of trust. Your employees will not be deceived by the organization they work for. You will be showing them that they can trust you all the way. Not only when they agree with you, but also when they challenge you.
