Transparency, Honesty, Authenticity (Part 1)
Words matter.
Certain languages have many (English has over 200,000+), and some have only a few (Toki Pona has 123). Words also evolve, with some falling out of favor (going back to English, there are 47,000+ obsolete) and new ones being created or repurposed. However, it is crucial to get the words right; otherwise, you will be misunderstood or even end up with a legal case.
We use words differently from their dictionary definitions reasonably often. Usually, there is nothing nefarious about this; however, there can be. If you have worked in a corporate role or are a candidate, you have often heard these words used interchangeably:
Transparency, Honesty, and Authenticity
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What are their definitions?
Transparency refers to the quality of being open about one's actions, decisions, and intentions. It involves sharing information and being accountable for one's actions. Transparency is often associated with organizations and governments being accountable to the public and must be transparent about their activities.
Honesty refers to the quality of being truthful, sincere, and straightforward. It involves telling the truth, even if it is difficult or uncomfortable. Honesty is often associated with individuals and their relationships, but it is also important in business and other contexts.
Authenticity refers to being genuine, real, and true to oneself. It involves being true to one's values, beliefs, and personality. Authenticity is often associated with personal identity and is valued in relationships, leadership, and creative endeavors.
In short, transparency is about being open and accountable, honesty is about telling the truth, and authenticity is about being true to oneself. While they overlap in some ways, each concept emphasizes a different aspect of openness and the truth.
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What do the numbers look like?
Now, transparently those percentages look great. Honestly, though, the story behind the numbers is only 23 people voted. So, authentically, I can say that they aren’t statistically significant. However, they can still tell a great story about what people look for and value in a company and as an employee.
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So where do you usually hear about Transparency, Honesty, and Authenticity?
Transparency
As a candidate: Splashed across company websites, job descriptions (especially Salary Transparency), and during interviews. Commonly you hear interviewers and hiring managers say, “We’re a transparent company” or “I’m a transparent leader.”
As an employee: You hear it from company leadership or your manager. You see it in corporate emails and listen to it in All-Hands calls as a rallying cry. Leadership touting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) as a top-line goal.
Honesty
As a candidate: Unless you’ve built genuine rapport, it is all reading the air when you ask a question. The better the question, the more likely you will hear an honest response.
As an employee: When people are frustrated, something went spectacularly wrong, and there is damage control.
Authenticity
As a candidate: Hiring teams and interviewers “We want you to bring your authentic self to work.”
As an employee: In a meeting with HR, “We want you to bring your authentic self to work but maybe can you not bring your whole self? People are uncomfortable with your [fill in the blank here].” In a speech from a leader, “I don’t want to sugarcoat our results. We missed our mark on what we hoped to get done this quarter. This will impact our share price and likely lead to some personnel changes.”
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Why is knowing the distinction between Transparency, Honesty, and Authenticity important?
Think back to all the advice you were given about interviewing (and dating). Friends and family probably told you to be yourself but not your full self until you know the company/person. If that advice seems contradictory, you aren’t wrong. It is people encouraging you to find the careful balance between being transparent, honest, and authentic.
This is why it is easy to visualize the differences between these three like a pyramid. At the top, you place authenticity since, in order to be authentic, you have to be both transparent and honest.
In the next section, I’ve included some everyday situations demonstrating the differences. However, before getting into those, three things need to be made clear:
It is possible to be transparent but not honest or authentic
It is possible to be honest but not authentic
You can’t be authentic without being both transparent and honest
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How does this play out in professional situations?
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Job Descriptions
Situation: Example written by Company
Transparency
“Ability to operate in an ambiguous and rapidly changing environment.”
Honesty
“At our company, things change frequently, and we need people who can adapt and not need constant supervision.”
Authenticity
“In our rapidly changing company, we are still working on figuring out all the kinks, but we aren’t perfect. There may be times when you are given a lot of direction, and there may be times when you need to operate with loose frameworks to get the job done. As we change, we will explain why these changes happen.”
Why choose authenticity?
Plenty of digital ink has been spilled about translating corporate jargon in a job description. While some of that is marketing, since you can’t always be direct, some of it distracts from the job and its responsibilities. By writing an authentic job description, you skip over all the fluffy language and present what it takes to succeed in the role.
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Interview Prep
Situation: Conversation between Recruiter and Candidate
Transparency
“You’ll get questions about your background, a few projects you worked on, and behavioral questions.”
Honesty
“In your conversation with Jane Doe, she prepares questions in advance about XYZ. This is what those questions might sound like.”
Authenticity
“In your conversation with Jane Doe, she will ask you the following questions. Traditionally she is looking to see XYZ in an answer because the team is working on the ABC problem. She would work with someone in this role on EFG, and this is how she thinks about the role.”
Why should you choose Interview Prep Authenticity?
Interviewing is already an inexact science clouded with bias or poor predictors of success. If the goal of the interview is to see whether or not the person can do the job, then why not give them all the information possible to see if they prepared and planned? Here is why this helps both the company and the candidate. First, even if you give the candidate all the questions before, they still have to provide answers. If they come prepared, it is likely an indication of the work you can come to anticipate, and if they improvise, that tells you something too. Second, neurodivergent candidates can present themselves to the best of their abilities, and, again, no company has ever received negative press for having “too-inclusive” an interview process.
Last, no candidate ever got mad at a company for giving them the questions, and no company’s reputation on Glassdoor ever took a hit for providing good interview prep.
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Interview Authenticity
Situation: Conversation between Recruiter and Candidate using the example of “Why did you leave your last role?”
Candidate Transparency
“ACME is a great company, and I learned a ton from time there that helped me grow as an individual. After discussing this growth with my manager, we decided to part ways amicably.”
Candidate Honesty
“ACME was undergoing a ton of changes, and the culture shifted in a major way. Ultimately, I no longer felt comfortable working there, and we mutually decided to leave.”
Candidate Authenticity
“ACME went through changes with frequent manager turnover. I got a new manager who provided me with inconsistent feedback. I worked on addressing their feedback but wasn’t given sufficient guidance when I asked questions. The manager began to exclude me from meetings and publicly belittled me. Ultimately, I was terminated after my team reached their goal.”
Why can’t candidates choose interview authenticity?
Being a candidate is like being the less famous partner in a highly publicized relationship. When a breakup happens, you don’t get to be the one that says, “We broke up because so and so was horrible to me,” because of both a non-disclosure agreement and the fact that other people are going to want the opportunity to date the other person. The same thing goes for interviewing when a company asks you why you decided to leave. You have to smile, nod, and give a transparent answer because if you give an honest or authentic one, the hiring company might go, “ooooh, we don’t want someone who speaks negatively about their previous company!” In an interviewing situation, the interviewer has the upper hand and the candidates need to be cautious for fear of saying the wrong thing and losing the opportunity.
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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB):
Situation: Conversation between Recruiter and Candidate.
DEIB Transparency
“We have a DEIB program. We’ve got ERGs.”
DEIB Honesty
“We have a DEIB program and ERGs. But we know we can do more and just aren’t there yet.”
DEIB Authenticity
“We have a DEIB program and ERGs. We know we can do more by funding our ERGs and thinking holistically about our DEIB approach. We aren’t there yet. We have teams working on giving the program teeth and tying it to goals to hit our goals of XYZ.”
Why should you choose DEIB Honesty or Authenticity?
Because when you look at layoff numbers and actions taken, words aren’t backing up action from many in Leadership positions. If DEIB is important to your company, it isn’t something you only pursue when the times are good. You build it into your DNA from the beginning and back it up with action.
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Salary
Situation: Conversation between Recruiter and Candidate.
Salary Transparency
“We’re open to paying between $100,000.00 - $200,000.00.”
Salary Honesty
“We’re going to pay between $120,000.00 - $150,000.00.”
Salary Authenticity
“The team you are joining has an average range of $140,000.00 - $160,000.00. We’re currently working on changing the salaries for team members so we can have pay equity. Ideally, we’d like to offer you between $155,000.00 - $165,000.00 based on your skills and how it compares to those on the team.”
Why should a company choose Salary Honesty or Authenticity?
Salary Transparency laws are a huge win, and there is no doubt about that, so this isn’t a criticism there. Salary Honesty is the next step in the process, with Salary Authenticity the final evolution. Salary Honesty gives the candidate a clear idea of what the company is looking to pay, the opportunity to have material information from a compensation perspective, and no one feels tricked. Additionally, this would prevent the wide salary ranges we see on jobs. On the business side, this allows a company to build trust because there is no hidden information. If a business wanted to take it to the Authenticity level, it could go so far as to publish all salaries and be held accountable to pay equity.
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Promotions
Situation: Conversation between Manager and Employee.
Promotion Transparency
“We know you’ve been doing fantastic work for us. We’re going to try during the next promotion cycle to get you promoted to that next level.”
Promotion Honesty
“You’ve been doing fantastic work. We really mean that. We’re going to try to get you moved up to the next level in this next promotion cycle. I do want to be honest with you, though, that we’ve had several people do phenomenal work, and I’m just waiting to see what the promotion guidelines are before anything can happen.”
Promotion Authenticity
“You’ve been doing phenomenal work. I want to recognize that. I will try and push for you to be promoted this year and a pay bump that is commensurate with that. While it is possible, I do want to say that the decision isn’t mine alone and will require multiple people's approval. It is possible that someone with more knowledge of the health of the business or in leadership may decide they can only promote or give salary increases to a specific number of people. If they choose not to promote you or give you the increase I’m going to push for, I will do anything I can to get actionable feedback so we can make sure you are still challenged and possibly promoted outside of the cycle.”
Why didn’t you get a promotion?
Promotions are never straightforward. During performance review cycles, managers are often given guidelines, and, even if they recommend someone for a promotion, it could be declined by someone further up the chain with little to no explanation. This tension isn’t great for either employees or managers since it asks for trust in grace in situations that can have long-lasting impacts.
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How does this relate to Recruiting Operations (RecOps)?
Because of the nature of systems, Recruiting Operations is inherently authentic. No matter how complex, there is a Yes or a No answer in many situations. However, where RecOps is forced to be transparent is often when dealing with candidates. When scheduling candidates, there is what is convenient for the candidate and what is convenient for the company. Often this requires a fair amount of transparency, especially in scheduling (e.g., “I’m sorry but the team isn’t available on that day. Would you be able to do this day instead”) or in questions from the candidate (e.g., “I’m sorry I don’t have the feedback but I will ask the Recruiter to reach out to you” when in fact you can see it in the ATS). Often this makes junior-level RecOps individuals uncomfortable because, naturally, they want to help but have to choose transparency over honesty.
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So what’s next?
In the end, when working for a company or looking for your next role, you must determine the environment you need to succeed and the types of leaders for whom you want to work. Factoring whether you want transparency, honesty, or authenticity into your search or to continue employment will give you great control and understanding. If you are starting a company, you need to determine which value you are building into your company’s DNA from Day One. As the company grows and develops, the pivot from one to the other becomes incrementally harder.
Disclaimer: The views expressed and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author. Since we are critically-thinking human beings, these views are always subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time. Please do not hold them in perpetuity.
