Leaders face constant challenges in building trust, detecting deception, and creating transparent organizational cultures. Yet many common beliefs about detecting lies and building trust are based on misconceptions rather than evidence.
Gayle Lantz speaks with Dr. Tim Levine, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and author of “Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception.” Dr. Levine has spent three decades researching deception and challenging conventional wisdom about how we detect lies and build trust.
His research reveals surprising insights about human honesty and provides practical guidance for leaders seeking to create more transparent organizations. Dr. Levine explains why most people are actually more honest than we assume, and why common beliefs about deception detection often lead us astray.
This episode covers:
- Understanding Truth-Default Theory and why humans naturally tend toward honesty
- Why friendly, confident extroverts tend to be more readily believed (and what this means for other personality types)
- How leaders can be perceived as more credible both short-term and long-term
- Common misconceptions about detecting deception, including why body language isn’t reliable
- Building organizational cultures that encourage honesty while maintaining appropriate vigilance
- Practical approaches to hiring and background verification
- Why most lies are discovered after the fact rather than in real-time
- Creating environments that reward transparency instead of incentivizing deception
This episode challenges listeners to rethink their assumptions about deception while offering evidence-based strategies for building more honest and transparent organizations. It provides valuable insights for leaders seeking to strengthen trust within their teams while maintaining appropriate safeguards against potential deception.
LINKS:
Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception(Amazon)
Previous CEO on the Go Episode:
Discover Stress-Free Scaling – Build a Systems-Driven Culture with David Jenyns