The Value of Honesty — and the Price of Deception

Honesty and integrity are among the most valuable traits in leadership—yet they rarely appear on a balance sheet. In hiring decisions, especially at the executive level, these qualities are often acknowledged but quietly deprioritized in favor of speed, cost, or convenience. In my experience, that tradeoff almost always proves expensive in the long run.

Over the course of my career, across many industries and technical environments, one pattern has repeated itself consistently: organizations that value transparency outperform those that rely on omission, ambiguity, or unspoken expectations. The returns may not show up immediately, but they compound over time in trust, loyalty, execution, and resilience.

Why Honesty Outperforms in the Long Run

Most of us can recall moments when we avoided difficult truths—sometimes out of politeness, sometimes to preserve harmony, and sometimes because honesty felt too costly in the moment. I’ve learned that those costs rarely disappear; they’re simply deferred.

Earlier in my life, I struggled with alcohol addiction. Looking back, the people who helped me most were not the ones who spared my feelings, but those who were willing to be direct when it mattered. Those conversations were uncomfortable, but they prevented far greater consequences later. The value of that honesty far outweighed the temporary discomfort.

The same dynamic exists inside organizations.

Lessons from Transparent Leadership

Early in my technology career, I worked with a CEO who demanded brutal honesty—and modeled it himself. Expectations were clear. Feedback was direct. Difficult conversations happened early, not after damage had been done.

That company is still thriving more than twenty years later. That CEO remains one of my strongest professional references. While the compensation at the time wasn’t exceptional, the long-term value of that experience shaped how I lead, hire, and train others to this day.

When the 2007 recession hit and the company’s financial reality changed, we confronted it head-on. Together, we built a transition plan that preserved as much integrity as possible—for the business and for its people. The personal cost to me was significant, including a period of unemployment and financial strain. Yet I still look back on that chapter positively, because honesty preserved trust even in failure.

The Hidden Cost of Withholding the Truth

I’ve also worked with leaders who appreciated my candor—until it was time to share theirs. In several cases, long-term plans were withheld, often out of fear that I might challenge assumptions or ask uncomfortable questions.

Whether intentional or not, that lack of transparency created real damage. Motivation eroded. Loyalty weakened. Teams felt the disconnect. Once trust is lost, it’s extraordinarily difficult—and expensive—to rebuild.

From a business perspective, these losses are just as real as any budget overrun, even if they’re harder to quantify.

Hiring for Trust, Not Just Skill

When hiring for a CTO or IT Director role, technical competence is table stakes. The real questions are deeper:

• Do you trust this person instinctively?

• Are you willing to give them a voice in the company’s future?

• Can you have honest conversations about both successes and failures?

• Do former teammates and partners speak well of working with them?

• Do they know how to build and trust strong teams?

If these questions don’t lead to confidence and openness, keep looking. And if you already know exactly where you’re going—and don’t intend to share that decision-making—be honest with yourself: you may not be looking for a long-term executive partner at all.

When a Consultant Is the More Honest Choice

One of the most overlooked leadership decisions is choosing between an executive hire and a consulting relationship.

A consultant can provide clarity precisely because they are not emotionally or financially tied to long-term outcomes. That distance allows for unfiltered honesty. If alignment breaks down, the relationship can end cleanly—without damaged trust, disrupted teams, or painful separations.

Much like therapy, the investment itself creates accountability. The consultant can speak freely because their role is defined, paid for, and transparent from the start.

In many cases, it’s far easier—and healthier—to transition a consultant into a long-term role than to recover from a misaligned executive hire.

The Compounding Effect of Trust

There’s a well-known idea in online reviews: it can take 10 to 20 five-star reviews to offset the damage of a single one-star review. Organizational trust works the same way.

A single dishonest hiring or termination decision can undo years of positive culture-building. Employee morale suffers. Customers feel it. The bottom line follows.

I’ve seen this firsthand more times than I care to count.

The Takeaway

The value of honesty will always exceed the cost of deception—even when that deception is unintentional, even when it stems from uncertainty or fear.

You may not be able to assign it a line item on a financial statement. But trust compounds, and its absence extracts interest.

If there’s one principle I’ve learned to rely on, it’s this: when in doubt, be clear. Be direct. Be honest. The long-term returns are worth it.