Truth and leadership in the tech world

What does a ‘post-truth world’ mean for leadership in the tech sector?

As we start to look back at 2016 perhaps one of its defining trends will be the emergence of what many call a ‘post-truth’ world.

Politicians have always had a tetchy relationship with the truth but this year has seen everything from the £350 million pledge made during the EU referendum to President-elect Trump’s flexible relationship with the facts. And in recent weeks we’ve seen the exposure of ‘fake news’ alongside social media’s worrying tendency to take people down a rabbit hole of their own world view – to be an echo chamber for opinions, often regardless of the facts.

Faced with these realities, objective truth is under the gun. If fake news gets people’s attention and politicians can willfully contradict themselves, we’d be forgiven for asking; how important are facts in making a case and achieving leadership?             

It was Pontius Pilot who famously asked; what is the truth – a question that seems as fitting now as it did over 2,000 years ago. And for the PR world which is built on the idea that communication can make real change happen, we need to think carefully about its implications. I think this is especially true for tech businesses.

Almost all the most successful tech firms are built on a brand promise of what the future could be if you buy their gadget or invest in their software. But who is to say any of this is founded in objective truth? The advantage for those talking about the future is that this ‘truth’ is yet to be created. The power of a concept, an engaging idea or an emotive vision is what counts. Granted, it needs to grounded in plausibility, but for people in the game of looking to the future, truth would seem to have lost its potency.

So what does this mean for those looking to build leadership positions? I think one of the most important lessons here is that people are no longer looking for truth in its purest form. Instead, trust is the currency of our age. If you’re a trusted brand, company or individual you’ve earned the right to talk about your vision and make predictions about the future. After all the concept of a ‘true’ vision of the future doesn’t exist – it’s whether your vision can be trusted that counts.

For tech leaders this means there’s a new opportunity. The industry’s DNA is deep rooted in shaping what’s next and a marketplace that is now more accustomed to post truth statements about the future arguably allows for bolder assertions to be made. This marketing method worked for Apple under Steve Jobs who ‘sold dreams not products’ and Elon Musk who has said tech leaders should always talk about the future when communicating about their brand or product. The current post truth landscape is fertile ground for such an approach.

Personally I’m not too sure we’re quite ready for a fully post truth state of affairs. Genuine leadership is built around a deep understanding of a topic or an issue which enables someone to draw credible and meaningful conclusions about a path forward. The truth will always catch up with leaders that bend it too much. In the end even Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field ran out of juice.

Perhaps the main takeaway from all of this is that trust is the foundation of leadership. And while some leaders have built trust based on powerful and emotive storytelling, if facts are too far from the picture this can only take an individual or brand so far.

Image: Thinkstock

Paul Slinger

Paul Slinger is a director at FleishmanHillard, with particular expertise in technology public relations, reputation management and international communications.