Sometimes it's not easy to be truthful.

• What if they get hurt?

• What if I get hurt?

• What if they judge me?

There are endless concerns with which to concern oneself.

In the workplace, there are even more pressures making it challenging to lead with truth.

• The stakes are higher. (How will my career be affected? I need to take care of my family.)

• Often, it's just not a habit for team members to speak truths. In other words, in some work cultures, no one has really led with truth for years (ever?)

• Maybe your supervisor doesn't reward truth, even punishes it - instead rewarding other values like personal fealty, seniority, ability to make them laugh, etc.

Ultimately, your career is yours, and your life is yours. They belong to no one but you.

You can make a good living without abiding by the truth. Many have and many will. But somewhere in your heart and in your mind, you’ll know something's wrong. And the people who are closest to you will know something's wrong. Something deep and fundamental inside.

Is that worth it?

This is a judgment call for each person to make for themselves.

For me, it’s not worth it. So I stick with telling the truth. It makes me a little bit outside the norm, but it works for me. I couldn't operate the other way.

And you know an extra cool part? After you’ve been truthful under challenging circumstances a few times, it becomes easier than not telling the truth.

And of course, bonus points for not having to remember anything besides what's actually happening in life.