Value #1: Tell the Truth / Di Verite

This is Post #1 in a series of 20 Values/Motivasyon that I have taught to my team here in Haiti.  These values are the roots or anchors of the 3rd Culture we are creating together. I will continue to teach these, and I pray model these. This is who I am, and I want my team to know how I think, what I expect of myself/them, who I want us to be, and why/how I/we do what I/we do.

Value #1: Tell the Truth / Di Verite

There are no exceptions.  We will ALWAYS tell the truth and we will hold all those we work with to the same standard.  For me, truth is the bedrock of life.  If we don’t tell the truth, every other aspect of our lives crumbles.  If we don’t tell the truth, there can’t be mutual trust.  If there can’t be mutual trust, we can’t work together.  How can one ever function in a community, as a team, as a partnership, if we can’t trust that one another are telling the truth, 100% of the time.  This isn’t always true in Haiti, or in America.  No matter the consequences, WE WILL TELL THE TRUTH.  Sometimes, it might seem that telling a little white lie is justified in an unjust situation, or because the system we work in is broken and we must lie a little because it will accomplish something greater.  NO.  We won’t lie.  Being committed and following through with telling the truth 100% of the time is worth the price we must pay in a unjust situation.

Maybe it is a little corny, but I have taught hand motions to go with each Value.  I guess it’s part of the culture that we are creating. When we do a hand motion with one another, we each know what we are talking about.  Here is the hand motion that goes with this first value.  Finger to lips…  Tell the Truth / Di Verite.

Rob