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Commendable and worth remembering the next time it happens to you. But do remember... Sadly this can backfire. Repeatedly doing this can get you fired, suspende

Commendable and worth remembering the next time it happens to you. But do remember... Sadly this can backfire. Repeatedly doing this can get you fired, suspended, grounded, or suffering whatever other punitive action the "superior" is capable of metering out.

throweway 11y ago
What if it is unintended e.g. autism spectrum?
- qznc 11y ago
  Then you are probably under special protection by law. For your the pointy-haired boss it means he has to use more subtle methods, e.g. a performance review, to get you out of the door.
tristor 11y ago
I agree 100%. It has backfired on me several times in life, but it has also been a good thing in my career in organizations which respect it. I find the response to honesty is most measured by the quality of the leaders in your organization. Good leaders crave honest feedback, because its impossible to correctly judge your leadership decisions based on the advice of sycophants. As an example, in one big company I worked at, I was very far down the totem-pole, but in a senior technical role. I had, however, firmly established my reputation for honesty (sometimes brutal honesty) and integrity. While some of the managers a few steps above me did not care for me because of this, my direct supervisor respected it, and I was meeting for lunch weekly with the SVP of our business unit to answer any questions he had about the internals of the product and give him "straight answers" about things he had asked about. Sure, in some ways, I was probably backstabbing the guys above me, but only because they were lying to the SVP constantly and that impacted his ability to make good decisions. Honesty is pretty much always the best policy, no matter who asks. It won't always win you favors, but at least no matter the outcome you can be assured of your own personal integrity. Being dishonest when it seems advantageous may prevent some heartache, but it won't prevent all heartache, and you'll end up seeing yourself as a bad person in the end and have a troubled conscience (unless of course you're a psychopath).

throweway 11y ago

What if it is unintended e.g. autism spectrum?

qznc 11y ago
Then you are probably under special protection by law. For your the pointy-haired boss it means he has to use more subtle methods, e.g. a performance review, to get you out of the door.

tristor 11y ago

I agree 100%. It has backfired on me several times in life, but it has also been a good thing in my career in organizations which respect it. I find the response to honesty is most measured by the quality of the leaders in your organization. Good leaders crave honest feedback, because its impossible to correctly judge your leadership decisions based on the advice of sycophants. As an example, in one big company I worked at, I was very far down the totem-pole, but in a senior technical role. I had, however, firmly established my reputation for honesty (sometimes brutal honesty) and integrity. While some of the managers a few steps above me did not care for me because of this, my direct supervisor respected it, and I was meeting for lunch weekly with the SVP of our business unit to answer any questions he had about the internals of the product and give him "straight answers" about things he had asked about. Sure, in some ways, I was probably backstabbing the guys above me, but only because they were lying to the SVP constantly and that impacted his ability to make good decisions. Honesty is pretty much always the best policy, no matter who asks. It won't always win you favors, but at least no matter the outcome you can be assured of your own personal integrity. Being dishonest when it seems advantageous may prevent some heartache, but it won't prevent all heartache, and you'll end up seeing yourself as a bad person in the end and have a troubled conscience (unless of course you're a psychopath).