Interactive Series: E1: The Truth About Lying

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

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