To tell or not to tell, that is the question
Hi, this is ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D. again. Here’s the second in my series of scenarios:
While conducting management training for a group of managers at XYZ Corp. they had a change in upper management and the new management was trying to trim costs. One of the managers consulting with me, let’s call her Sandra, was scared. The project that she had been managing for several years, was an event that occured quarterly and was very costly. She had determined some time ago that the event was not providing XYZ with any benefits. She was afraid that her new CEO would find it out and she’d be fired.
I asked Sandra why she didn’t report her findings and suggest a more profitable project in its stead. She, and some of her fellow colleagues, all rushed to tell me that this was not a prudent thing to do. She didn’t want to lose her job. Her co-managers liked her and didn’t want to see her harmed either, so they supported her decision to “lie by omission.”
