Trust, But Verify: 5 Tips for Truth Finding

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Whatever happened to the days when news would report facts and leave it up to us to decide what we believed?

Somewhere along the line, while we were all busy with living our lives, facts were replaced by opinions. We are now told what to believe while being fed questionable and unverifiable information. While that is a reality in our world, ambiguity in the workplace is nothing new.

We search for truth and investigate as to what is really going on. In the world, we listen to different voices regardless of mainstream’s attempt to cancel them. How long do you think it will take mainstream to understand they can never cancel the truth?

In the meantime, truth seem elusive both in the world around us and in the workplace. In my 30 years of experience corporate leader, I found many work environments fraught with mistaken information, hidden agendas, and elusive facts. But there are ways to trust but verify.

Here are 5 tips for truth finding:

1. Assume everyone is human and not infallible

What I’m not saying is to assume everyone is lying, while there are those that do. What I am saying is to assume everyone is human. Information we receive and make assumptions about can be subject to mistakes or misinterpretations. Sometimes we get it right, and sometimes we don’t. Verify, verify, verify even the most trusted of voices. Legitimate voices and influencers will encourage you to do you your own research as well.

2. Watch for keywords

“Always”, “everyone”, and “never” are keywords to watch. I remember as a kid trying to convince mom to buy an expensive pair of jeans that we couldn't afford. “But EVERYONE is wearing those jeans!” Mom crushed my premise by asking “oh really, like who?” Then she close the argument by asking, “if EVERYONE jumped off of a cliff would you too?” Those keywords are over broad often used to convince you of something. Get really good and listening for those keywords and ask questions.

3. Compare with different and unrelated sources

Comparing information with different and unrelated sources can make all the difference. When a certain subject that interest us is complex, think of setting up mental buckets. Label them with both sides of the story. As time goes along fill the respective bucket up with verifiable facts (not opinion) that come from different and unrelated sources. The truth bucket will eventually become full.

4. Time reveals all truths

Beware of those who seek your trust for false purposes. In corporate settings there are those few who position for power and work to earn the trust of decision makers for their own manipulative purpose. There are also stories of voices that start out reasonable enough sharing only trusted information...for a while. Then suddenly they veer off a cliff somewhere sharing information that is not truthful for some misaligned purpose. It is hard sometimes to tell who those folks are until they veer off the cliff. But know this to be true, time will reveal the truth.

5. Golden standard of truth

It becomes a little easier to determine fact from fiction when you have a golden standard of truth to measure information up against. Some of us use Biblical scriptures as the gold standard. So, when we hear messages encouraging us to hate each other, it doesn’t measure up as truth no matter who it is coming from. Because our golden standard of truth says to “Love thy neighbor, as thyself” Matthew 22:36-40.

Ultimately you have a part in truth. No matter your role in corporate life, running a business, or personally. Commit to leading with truth. It’s easy to get caught up in something that sounds amazing and want to share it. While there is nothing wrong with us wanting to share what we learn with our friends and family, it is important to note that is what false rumor generators are counting on. After all, there is nothing more powerful than friends influencing friends. Think about it. You are more apt to buy something because a friend or family member recommended it to you. So be sure of what you are sharing with others and be known as a leader of truth in a time when we need it the most.

Let us know of other tips we may have missed. How do you trust, but verify?

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Tresha Moreland

Tresha Moreland is a 30-year organizational effectiveness and strategic workforce planning expert. She partners with business leaders to develop workplace strategies that achieve best-in-class results. She has held key organizational leadership roles in multiple industries such as manufacturing, distribution, retail, hospitality, and healthcare. Tresha is the founder and principal consultant of HR C-Suite, LLC (www.hrcsuite.com). HR C-Suite is a results-based HR strategy resource dedicated to connecting HR with business results. She has received a master’s degree in human resource management (MS) and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA). She has also earned a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Six Sigma Black Belt Professional (SSBBP) Certification. She is also recognized as a Fellow with the American College Healthcare Executives with a FACHE designation.