The Truth Gap: How Little White Lies Can Undermine A Company's Culture

Forbes

15-07-2025

Dmitry Malin, COO of Novakid . getty
In business, transparency and open communication are often celebrated as core values. According to the Transparency Index 2024, transparency creates trust and trust then catalyzes business growth. The report also highlights how, in a world defined by disinformation and crises, there is a growing need for trust and transparency. Gallup research highlights the importance of trust in leadership, as trust in leaders can improve employee engagement.
And yet there is one small decision that most people make which directly affects the culture of the business—the little white lie. These comforting falsehoods, often considered harmless, can undermine the very culture people want to build because they create a dangerous gap between perception and reality. The illusion of harmony created by these little white lies can create a seductive narrative that suggests everything is fine but instead leaves critical issues unaddressed.
Sure, most people reading this will think that the idea of the little white lie undermining the entire business culture is a bit dramatic. After all, isn't it just a nice way of not hurting someone's feelings? Isn't a white lie better than telling your boss the truth about their new haircut? Or perhaps letting your colleague know that their email writing skills are subpar?
The short answer is no. A lie is a lie no matter how big, and it can have a direct impact on your relationships and the health of the business. It is also so unnervingly common that the truth has become something of a commodity. According to a study undertaken by a University of Massachusetts psychologist (via Science News), 60% of adults lied at least once during a 10-minute conversation. That's a staggering percentage of people in a very short amount of time.
It is also a massive sign: Honesty is both rare and important. It is also uncomfortable. The Comfort Trap: The Simplicity Of The Little White Lie
Little white lies in the workplace make life easier because they can help you avoid stepping outside of your comfort zone. However, in my experience, they are also a trap that can:
• Prevent leaders from seeing problems until they become crises.
• Run the risk of creating a false consensus that leads to poor strategic decisions.
• Build artificial harmony in the office rather than authentic relationships.
• Reinforce a culture where people prioritize pleasantness over honesty and progress.
When a business consistently chooses comfort over candor, it is systematically undermining its capacity for innovation and adaptation. Think about it: If you invest in an employee net promoter score (NPS) and get negative feedback that you didn't expect, your team leads are going to be affected. If they've never had honest employee feedback around how the company operates or what should improve, then a negative NPS is going to be both surprising and unpleasant, which then impacts trust, well-being and the business. Finding The Right Balance
The cost of workplace deception is more than just a nasty surprise come employee feedback day. It can also affect trust and overall workplace culture. When companies let small deceptions go, they are creating an environment where it could become easier to justify increasingly larger ethical compromises.
The problem worsens in hierarchical environments where power dynamics can discourage honesty. When employees don't feel comfortable voicing their concerns to superiors, then leadership is left at a disadvantage: How can you improve your business if employees aren't comfortable telling you what's going wrong?
This doesn't mean you should abandon tact and diplomacy in favor of brutal honesty. Creating a culture where people feel free to be unnecessarily hurtful isn't the solution either. I believe success involves maintaining a delicate balance that combines respect with radical candor. This approach focuses on these core principles:
1. Separating observations from judgements when delivering feedback.
2. Creating a psychologically safe environment before requesting honesty.
3. Framing feedback around impact rather than personal criticism.
4. Demonstrating equal commitment to hearing tough truths across all levels of the business.
5. Building feedback processes that normalize constructive insights.
When you can build a culture of constructive honesty, you are walking away from the false narrative of little white lies to be nice and toward a culture that values truthfulness. This requires leaders to model vulnerability by actively seeking uncomfortable feedback and responding to it with genuine appreciation rather than defensiveness.
There is no doubt that creating this kind of culture is challenging. It takes time and practice to get it right and to walk away from old behaviors, but I've found that it is rewarding. When you approach it with intentionality and consistent practice, you are building an environment where people feel safe enough to be honest, and you are equally building a foundation of trust that will grow stronger with each honest conversation.
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