As those revolving doors at the DfE turn again, and the leaders of our country give us their own rendition of the Hokey Cokey with some very questionable additional moves (we’re looking at you Andrea Jenkyns), we keep hearing the words honesty, integrity and trust. We may hold different views on what exactly caused Boris Johnson’s downfall, but a recurring theme has been his relationship with the truth.
For early years leaders, honesty, integrity and trust are fundamental. For most of us, honesty is the default, and we naturally act with integrity and build trust. When does that come under threat though? When we’re worried about the impact of the truth. Worried to have that conversation with that particular parent, knowing that the conversation is going to be a difficult one. Holding back on giving that team member your honest view on something they said or did. Yet the negative impact of not being candid is always greater than the impact of telling the uncomfortable truth.
We might look back and think, ‘I wish I’d been more honest’; we never look back and think, ‘I wish I’d been less honest’. If we can get comfortable with the reality that not everyone will always like or agree with everything that we say and ensure that we always speak and act with respect and with the best intentions, then we have the context that we need to speak the truth. To be candid. Even when we’re worried, even when it’s hard for the person on the receiving end to hear that truth.
A false promise never helps anyone; telling people what you think they want to hear, rather than the truth, is no help in the long term. We’ve all looked into the face of a person who isn’t telling the truth and witnessed the moment they realise you’ve seen the lie. We’ve all seen the defensiveness or remorse that follows; we don’t want to be there.
What world do we want the children in their early years now to grow up into? We already have a world where ‘fact checking’ and ‘fake news’ prevail, where stories are fabricated, filtered and factless. We must make honesty and integrity the default, not a special characteristic or skill.
When those revolving doors finally close, for now at least, and you’ve recovered from the whiplash of watching Education Secretaries being appointed and leaving, can we reflect on any areas of our own lives, and own organisations, where we are not as honest as we could be? Whether that is with others, or even with ourselves.
