One of the moral maxims that was most likely drummed into you when you were a child was honesty is always the best policy. I’m here to tell you that after 35 years as a Public Relations professional, honesty is absolutely NOT the best policy in many situations, professional and personal. I know this is going against the moral grain, but hear me out, says Rachel Wetherall.
Once you enter the working world where truly the fittest survive, you will be rudely awakened by the fact that in many cases honesty comes way down the scale of priorities. Honesty actually has many shades and like many things, is subjective.
One of the most important concepts I studied when doing my MA in Communication Arts is that of Fantasy Chaining. In short, this is a story or a narrative created by a person, a culture, a group etc. Others then link onto this ‘fantasy’ and it becomes shared. And sometimes the members of that chain know deep down that the fantasy is based on a falsehood – but to survive you need to stay linked to the chain. In short: sometimes you have to do what you have to do to get by even if it means riffing on what you know is a false narrative.
In my many years of PR personally and professionally I’ve had to jump onto some fantasy chains I knew to be false. But to keep my job or please my boss I would go along with it all. One client demanded to know if I had “fire in my belly” (his exact words!!) for his product which I was publicising. I absolutely did not and knew from years of experience that it was not going to make front page news. But he would brook no opposition! I was a PR – I worked the account no matter what my personal opinion might be, so I drank the Kool-Aid and told him that of course my belly was aflame!
In my early struggling years in London there were times when I desperately needed a job between PR roles. I’m in no way ashamed to admit I made up a secretarial CV (this was before the days of the internet when you weren’t instantly rumbled by Google or LinkedIn). Because I did shorthand and typed at 90wpm I was always successful getting a temporary job right away. Desperate times called for desperate measures and a bit of creative resume writing!
I’ve watched in meetings as colleagues told what I knew to be outrageous porkies to save their own skin or the company. And to save my ass, I’ve told a few of my own. I’ve also lied to save other colleagues’ jobs when I felt they were being wrongly targeted; I’ve lied to save companies from going over a cliff. But I’ve always done it for what I truly believed were the right reasons. And I’m sure some people would disagree with that – but you know what? They’re probably doing it too!
So is honesty really the best policy? Sometimes you just gotta lie to get by.
