And within a month, they had a promotion and a raise. Most leaders want honest communication - even if the message isn't something they want to hear. Radical honesty is addictive. Once people discover the truth, they fall in love with it. That's how human beings operate.
People prefer to tell other people what they want to hear.
I don't worry very much about whether everything I hear in a meeting or read in an email is the unvarnished truth. I don't need perfect people. I need successful people - people who can think for themselves and get the job done. And if they need to tell a little white lie once in a while, well, I can live with that. When it comes to customer service, never tell me even a little white lie.