Honesty matters. At Moorelands Kids, we believe that one of the most important leadership qualities is trustworthiness, which helps us achieve our goals together. This is why we’ve compiled the following list to explain why honesty matters and what to do if you’ve been less than.
Why Honesty Matters
You may ask, why does honesty matter? Well, the answer is simple. Honesty is trust, dishonesty is distrust. To further the safety of your community and so you can grow into leadership, you have to be able to demonstrate that you are trustworthy. Those close to you want to communicate with someone reliable and honest—not someone who they know will not be truthful. Honesty …
- builds character, helping you develop humility;
- creates meaningful and trusting relationships;
- adds value to your reputation (and business);
- helps you gain and give respect;
- and informs you to make better decisions
How To Be Honest (and what to do if you’ve been less than)
1. THINK BEFORE YOU ACT
When professionals like Child and Youth Care Practitioners (CYCPs) do their work, honesty matters. CYCPs engage in reflexive practices to ensure meaningful connections, a therapeutic environment and informed care. When you are working towards being honest or building from a place where you’ve been less than honest, this is just as important.
Reflexive practices include thinking about what you know, what you are going to do and who you are communicating with before you engage with others. This way, you can successfully be honest with others and yourself! Engaging in this practice encourages an environment that is caring: a foundation on which to build the Moorelands Leadership Habits and Qualities (HQs). Being honest means you are respectful both to yourself and others, and having clear communication paves the path toward a trustworthy relationship founded on mutual respect.
2. ALIGN YOUR ACTIONS AND WORDS
Psychology Today notes that one of the best ways to be honest in relationships is to make sure your words and actions align. This also applies to building character. When you are growing as a leader, you want to make sure that you say as you do and do as you say. Walk the talk!
When your actions and words align, you create a positive reputation, build trustworthiness, and will develop many positive relationships with those around you. This is crucial for developing into a leader in your community!
3. OWN UP TO YOUR MISTAKES
Being honest, especially when you’ve not been in the past, requires you to be accountable for your actions. This is a practice that can easily be implemented in your everyday life; whether it is being honest with cancelling plans or about your preferences on music or food—it matters all the same.
Owning up to your mistakes—especially little things, like white lies—will help you to amend potentially bigger mistakes. This is a habit that you can develop to become a trustworthy leader in your community. Your friends, family, and acquaintances want someone to look up to that they can rely on and trust!
4. LOOK WITHIN
Looking inwards—which just means, in other words, taking stock of your feelings and emotions—is a powerful tool in developing an honest character. When you’ve been less than honest, you might learn some things about yourself by engaging in this process. Realistically, we all lie sometimes when we don’t know who we are. And little lies add up! If you look within, you may have a better chance of figuring it out!
Looking within requires you to ask yourself, “who do I want to be?” This doesn’t necessarily mean anything to do with your future career, but instead deals with your morals and values. Having a clear idea of what your morals are—what you believe is acceptable and what is not—is crucial in your development. Looking within yourself, furthermore, leads to understanding your intentions. If you have honest intentions, it’ll be easier to develop an honest character.
5. THINK OF THE COMMUNITY
Last but not least, Moorelands Kids wants to point you right back to community! The community is a place that should be safe, supportive and empowering. When you think of community, you imagine a place where you can (and should) be honest. Thinking of the community acts as motivation, offers solace when being honest seems scary and provides a cause greater than you. You being a trustworthy leader—and developing a sense of who you are in the process—can empower others as well.
The journey to being more honest may seem like a hard one. Just know, you’re not the only one out there!
by Angel Persaud and Kyle Dedecker
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