Why Dishonest Managers Are Actually The Best Bosses To Have, According To A Career Strategist
Telling the truth isn't always a good thing.
fizkes / Shutterstock Communication is a key part of any relationship. Being open and direct with the people around us fosters a strong sense of trust, which is essential to building those relationships.
Yet there are times when full honesty isn’t actually beneficial, especially in the workplace.
A career strategist explained why dishonest managers make the best bosses.
Julian Cole is a strategy trainer who offers tips to help workers navigate the wild world of office politics, a seemingly unavoidable aspect of any workplace. He recently shared his belief that dishonest managers help their teams succeed more than honest ones.
“Dishonesty as a manager is a key asset,” Cole said. “You want to be shielding your team from all the [expletive] that happens at that senior level.”
“You want to expose them slowly to more and more of that, but you definitely don’t want to be giving the honest truth about what’s happening above them,” he explained. “That is filled with politics and something that will not keep them focused on the job they have at hand.”
What Cole calls “dishonesty” might be better described as offering a limited view of the truth. While shifting the definition of not being honest might seem like a game of semantics, Cole isn’t really talking about malicious dishonesty.
These dishonest managers aren’t lying to their team members; they’re just not giving them an unmitigated view of what’s happening around them at work. Every manager has their own leadership style, yet Cole maintains the best kind of manager is one who isn't honest all the time.
Dishonest managers protect their teams by keeping them focused on their current roles.
According to Cole, a lack of transparency isn’t always a bad thing, but not everyone is on board with that assessment. As one person noted in the comments section, office politics tend to ripple outwards, even if a manager believes that they’re protecting their team.
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“Junior-level employees feel the effects of politics regardless,” they wrote. “So, it’s confusing to be shielded from reality, especially having to learn on their own as they get promoted.”
“Some transparency is needed,” they insisted.
Another user suggested that dishonesty wasn’t quite correct as far as terminology goes, suggesting “discretion” instead.
In a separate post, Cole broke down what 'office politics' really means and why they don’t always deserve such a negative connotation.
“Office politics isn’t some dark art or a bad thing,” he said. “It’s really understanding that at the heart of it, when we make decisions as human beings, as groups, there are going to be biases that are at play.”
Yet some of those biases can be harmful, especially to employees who exist more on the margins than those who are solidly accepted by corporate culture, and those are the ones who tend to be in positions of power, in the first place.
Cole went on to explain that understanding how office politics affects you as an individual is a two-fold process.
One part of getting ahead in the office politics game is to “Really understand what signals are at play when people communicate, whether that’s with words or nonverbally, what are they trying to say? And then, when you’re communicating back, making sure that when you’ve got a great idea, that it gets heard and is valued by the organization.”
Speaking your mind isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t hold a position of authority at a company, yet Cole maintains there’s value to doing so, as it can help solidify your role in the eyes of those above you.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.