How

Honest is
My Team?
Team Assessment on Four Dimensions
of Organizational Honesty

Ron A. Carucci
 How Honest is My Team?

How honest is my team?

Have you ever privately wondered about your team, “I wonder if I’m getting the whole story?” Are people really
saying what they think, aligned with what they value? Do you ever see people treat or judge one another
unfairly? Do people talk behind the team leader’s back in ways that are significantly different than what they say
to his/her face?

Is your team a safe place to tell the truth, a welcoming place in which people can be their whole self and
together serve a bigger purpose, and a fair place where everyone’s contributions matter and are honored?

That’s what this tool can help you find out.

Based on the 15-year longitudinal study for the book To Be Honest, the following self-assessment will help you
pinpoint areas where you and your team may be at risk for having less than honest behavior. Ask your team to
complete the assessment, come together and compare your answers. (And if even doing that gives you
trepidation, then you already know there is reason for concern.)

The good news is that any of these areas can be improved even with a small amount of effort. The first step is
being honest about where things are today.

Here’s what we learned in the research, and what you’ll be assessing your team against with this tool.

Honesty in Identity: Be Who You Say You Are

When we don’t know who we are, we make things up. When organizations say one thing about themselves,
but their actions don’t match, or when they set lofty goals but don’t connect those goals to employees’ everyday
work, their company identity becomes muddled. A misalignment in mission, vision, values, purpose, and/or
brand promises is a big, flapping red flag—for management and employees alike. My research reveals that
workers at companies whose statements of identity are unclear or inconsistent with what employees experience
day-to-day are almost three times more likely to withhold or distort the truth and behave unfairly. You can guess
what this means for your bottom line.

As a team, how often do you actually discuss how consistent your team actions are with the mission and values
of the organization? When you see actions that bely the values you claim to espouse, do you discuss it, or does it
remain unaddressed? This tool will offer you and your team feedback on how well you are being who you say
you are.

Justice in Accountability: Putting Dignity First

When we believe we’re being unfairly assessed, we exaggerate our contributions to self-protect and cover our
asses. Fewer things are more painful in organizations than performance management. When leaders fail to
judge performance in ways their employees feel are fair, employees respond by making sure they get the credit
they deserve—by whatever means necessary.

© Ron Carucci, 2021 Page 2 of 8

 How Honest is My Team?

But instead of inflicting stressful, paint-by-numbers performance reviews, leaders can learn to foster honest and
trusting relationships with those they lead, creating an environment where they can talk openly about when
contributions were exceptional, and when they fell short. Employees are four times more likely to be honest
about their results and fair to others when working at a company where they feel they can ask for help without
fear of judgment and are empowered to see failure as a learning experience.

As a team, how well do you honor one another’s contributions? Does the team leader play favorites? Do people
on the team feel as though their work really matters, and honored in how their contributions are assessed?
How is failure treated? Do people learn from their mistakes, or try to hide them? This tool will offer you and
your team feedback on how fair and dignified your experience of accountability is.

Transparency in Governance: Make Trustworthy Decisions Through

Honest Conversations
When there are no healthy forums in which the truth can be told, it goes underground, leaving collusion, rumors,
and gossip in its place. How decisions get made—or not—in companies is a common source of confusion for
people (even the ones who seem to be making the decisions!). When employees don’t know or trust how
resources are distributed, how priorities are set, or how hard decisions get made, they are more than three and
a half times more likely to lie or distort the truth. At the core of great governance—the way organizations make
decisions—are effective meetings where decisions are transparent, and difficult issues can be discussed openly.
Every team can learn to do these better.

How productive are your team meetings? Do people openly share their views, disagree with prevailing ideas,
and comfortably exchange feedback? Or do people come to meetings as a place to catch up on email? Are
decisions made in a transparent, inclusive way, or are people scrounging for back-channel information to find
out what’s going on? This tool will give you feedback on how well your team makes transparent decisions with
a trustworthy process, and how welcoming you are of differing views and hard feedback.

Unity Between Groups: Connect Everyone to a Bigger Story

When we fragment an organization, we create dueling truths. The seams of an organization, the places where
functions come together to form unique capabilities, hold tremendous but often untapped value; too often,
though, these are treated as no man’s land, with each party making an exclusive claim. Left unchecked,
interdepartmental conflict at a company makes it almost six times more likely that workers will lie or distort the
truth, or act unjustly. Such conflicts between functions or regions are more than annoying—they create the silos
that pit “my truth” against “your truth.” Despite these natural tendencies, companies can learn to create healthy
collaboration across their seams, fostering partnerships, not rivalries, between people who must work with
different departments.

Who are your team’s organizational rivals? What cross-functional partners do you struggle to maintain a healthy
relationship with? Have you tried to improve the relationship, or have you just accepted it as the status quo?
Among your team, or between your team and other parts of the organization, are there “we’s” and “they’s”—
people who feel excluded or like outsiders? This tool will give you feedback on how well your team partners with
others regardless of who they are.

© Ron Carucci, 2021 Page 3 of 8

 How Honest is My Team?

Part 1: Honesty in Identity; Be who you say you are

Almost
Never or About half A good deal
Rarely Always or
On our team/in our department almost never the time of the time
always
Score 1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4 Score 5

We actively solicit feedback from our customers

(internal or external) on whether they believe we
are living up to the promise of our mission and
values

We actively solicit feedback from each other on

whether nor not they believe we are living up to
the promise of our mission and values

We ensure everyone understands how their role

aligns with the mission of the organization

We are given feedback on the degree to which we

model our company values

There are consequences when an employee or

leader violates our values

We help everyone connect their own sense of

purpose to the organization’s purpose

When there is misalignment between our values

and actions, we take immediate action

When we commit to changes that will improve

our organization, we see them through to
completion

We take our company mission and values

seriously, regardless of how the rest of the
organization acts

People freely raise concerns about ways our

actions and words don’t match

Total points for each column 0 0 0 0 0

Total for Part I 0

If you scored between 41-50, your team is doing a good job being who you say you are, embodying your
company mission and values as you’ve proclaimed them.
If you score between 30 and 40, you team is doing a mediocre job being who you say you are, but there are risks
you need to address before the gap widens.
If you scored below 30, you are consistently breaching your stated identity, likely seen as duplicitous by your
organization, and at significant risk for a failure of organizational honesty.

© Ron Carucci, 2021 Page 4 of 8

 How Honest is My Team?

Part II: Justice in Accountability; Put dignity first

Almost
Never or About half A good deal
Rarely Always or
On our team/in our department almost never the time of the time
always
Score 1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4 Score 5

Our performance management process is

experienced as fair and honoring of people’s work

People are given the opportunity to develop their

talents to their full potential

We treat each person’s contribution as distinctive,

unique to who they are

Everyone has an equal chance of being successful,

no matter who they are or what they look like

When something feels unfair or disadvantaging to

someone, we address it openly and directly

When someone makes a mistake, they freely take

ownership of it

When we fail, we learn from it without shaming

people

We create opportunities for everyone to shine

We celebrate each other’s achievements

We give and receive honest and accurate

performance feedback

Total points for each column 0 0 0 0 0

Total for Part II 0

If you scored between 41-50, your team is doing a good nurturing dignity and justice in your accountability
processes.
If you score between 30 and 40, you team is doing a mediocre job at nurturing dignity and justice in
accountability are, but there are risks you need to address before the gap widens.
If you scored below 30, you are consistently mishandling accountability, causing people to feel insignificant and
unfairly treated, and at significant risk for a failure of organizational honesty.

© Ron Carucci, 2021 Page 5 of 8

 How Honest is My Team?

Part III: Trustworthy Decision Making; Have honest conversations

with transparent information
Almost
Never or About half A good deal
Rarely Always or
On our team/in our department almost never the time of the time
always
Score 1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4 Score 5

It’s clear what our team and individual decision

rights are

We have access to relevant information we need

to make quality decisions

We are trusted with sensitive information

We are transparent about when things aren’t

going well

We freely exchange differing points of view and

don’t shy away from conflict

We make sure everyone actively participates in

our team meetings

Our meetings are productive keep on agenda

We act in a unified way outside the room to

support decisions we make in the room

We build the skills needed to confront difficult

situations and speak candidly

We are comfortable being vulnerable with one

another

Total points for each column 0 0 0 0 0

Total for Part III 0

If you scored between 41-50, your team is doing a good making trustworthy, transparent decisions and having
honest conversations in your decision-making processes.
If you score between 30 and 40, you team is doing a mediocre job making trustworthy, transparent decisions
and having honest conversations in your decision-making processes, but there are risks you need to address
before the gap widens.
If you scored below 30, you are consistently mishandling decision-making, likely breeding distrust and wasting
time when you meet, and at significant risk for a failure of organizational honesty.

© Ron Carucci, 2021 Page 6 of 8

 How Honest is My Team?

Part IV: Cross-functional Unity: Building partnerships with others

Almost
Never or About half A good deal
Rarely Always or
On our team/in our department almost never the time of the time
always
Score 1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4 Score 5

We treat those we work with in other groups as

critical partners

We spend time strengthening our relationships

with cross functional partners

When there is misalignment with a cross-

functional partner, we address it in a collaborative
way

We believe our company culture encourages

healthy cross-functional collaboration

People are welcoming of those who are different

from them

We make sure everyone feels a sense of

belonging

Our metrics/key performance indicators are

aligned with other groups we collaborate with

We seek out opportunities to spend time with

those who don’t share our views

We spend time with our cross-functional partners

learning about their work, challenges, and needs
so we can be better partners

We understand the value we create with our

cross-functional partners for the company

Total points for each column 0 0 0 0 0

Total for Part IV 0

If you scored between 41-50, your team is doing a good work building partnerships with cross-functional groups
you collaborate with, and making sure those who are different feel included.
If you score between 30 and 40, you team is doing a mediocre job building partnerships with cross-functional
groups you collaborate with, and making sure those who are different feel included, but there are risks you need
to address before the gap widens.
If you scored below 30, you are consistently mishandling cross-functional relationships, likely making others feel
excluded or disregarded, and at significant risk for a failure of organizational honesty.

© Ron Carucci, 2021 Page 7 of 8

 How Honest is My Team?

Next Steps
After gathering and collating your team’s collective data, use it to prioritize 2-3 key actions you can take toward
being a more honest team.

In the book, To Be Honest; Lead with the Power of Truth, Justice & Purpose, there are hundreds of ideas and
practical suggestions you can use with your team to strengthen your honesty muscle.

Visit www.ToBeHonest.net to find other articles and videos to supplement your team’s work and conversations.

Thanks for taking the time to learn more about what it really means…

To Be Honest.

Ron

© Ron Carucci, 2021 Page 8 of 8