
Interactive Series: E1: The Truth About Lying
From Empowered Team Podcast by Kari Schneider
April 20, 2026 · 30 min · Episode 390
About this episode
Kari Schneider explores the psychology of lying and its impact on leadership and team dynamics.
In this powerful kickoff to a new series on communication and leadership interaction, Kari Schneider dives into a topic most leaders avoid: the psychology of lying — and how it impacts trust, credibility, and team performance. Drawing on research from: Dr. Robert Feldman (University of Massachusetts) Dan Ariely (The Honest Truth About Dishonesty) Dr. Robert Trivers (The Folly of Fools) Kari breaks down the three primary ways we lie — and why even high-integrity leaders fall into these patterns. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: Why 60% of people lie in a 10-minute conversation The real cost of “small” lies on leadership credibility What “trust debt” is — and how leaders unknowingly accumulate it The slippery slope of omission in organizations How strategic editing can erode psychological safety Why self-deception is the most dangerous lie of all How successful leaders become more sophisticated at lying to themselves The subtle language clues that signal deception Why cleaning up self-deception leads to deeper connection and bigger impact Standout Insight “We deceive ourselves first so that we can deceive others more convincingly.” This episode challenges leaders to conduct a…
People in this episode
Host: Kari Schneider
Guests: Dan Ariely, Dr Robert Feldman, Dr Robert Trivers
Topics covered
- communication
- leadership
- psychology of lying
- trust
- credibility
- team performance
Keywords
- self-deception
- trust debt
- psychological safety
- deception signals
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Truth About Lying, The Honest Truth About Dishonesty, The Folly of Fools, The 50 Best AI Prompts for Executives
More episodes of Empowered Team Podcast
- Action Game Series: Episode 2 - 3 Reasons Why You Finish Other People's Priorities 1st · June 8, 2026 · 36 min
- Action Game Series: E1: The 3 Reasons Why Smart People Don't Start · June 1, 2026 · 28 min
- Arielle Tayar Interview: The Power of Little Yeses · May 25, 2026 · 43 min
- Lee Caraher Interview: Specificity Creates Energy- How Most Leaders are Draining Their Teams · May 18, 2026 · 46 min
- Dr Robin Hills Interview: No One is Making You Feel Anything- That Changes Everything · May 11, 2026 · 53 min
- Interactive Series: 3 Hidden Reasons You're Snapping and None of Them are the Other Person · May 4, 2026 · 39 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Empowered Team Podcast podcast page.