Ever wonder whether your boss is being honest?

Recent corporate scandals have left employees feeling skeptical about the integrity of top management. So it's more important than ever for leaders to serve as role models to their staffs, some experts say.

"Companies and their culture revolve around their CEOs. They set the tone, the pace and the standards," said Jeff Christian, founder and chief executive officer of Christian & Timbers, a New York-based executive recruiting agency.

"Some are sneaky. Some test everything to the edge. Others play in the gray area. The best CEOs work in the black and white."

Ethics and integrity were among their companies' stated values, according to 76 percent of respondents in a recent American Management Association study. Trust and accountability were other common corporate values, the survey found.

Yet the survey of 175 association executives uncovered a number of examples where executives turned a blind eye when standards were not met.

When asked whether their organization would always do what is legal, but not necessarily what's perceived as ethical, 36 percent of the respondents answered yes.

Respondents witnessed other behaviors in the office with value shortcomings:

• 56 percent said they have observed their company practice hidden agendas;

• 22 percent said they have seen company facts distorted to customers;

• 17 percent said they have seen management lie to employees.

"My general view in running a business or an organization is that there isn't any good cause for misrepresentation to employees," said Dr. Duane Windsor, a management professor at Rice University's Jesse H. Jones School of Management. "The last thing you want to do is lose the trust of your employees."

Workers tend to yield trust until it is violated, Dr. Windsor said.

"As a leader, you earn trust at a low cost in the beginning," he said.

"You can lose it anytime very easily, but it's going to cost you a lot to get it back."

Sometimes leaders lose employee trust by not following through on prior and future commitments, by lying to customers or by being inconsistent with company policies or procedures, Mr. Christian said.

"The best CEOs are those who put their own personal agenda behind them and the company's in front," he said.

"People work for people – they don't really work for companies. The CEO represents the company."

Mr. Christian, author of The Headhunter's Edge: How to Get the Best Jobs and the Best People, said the best way to know whether a boss is being honest is to ask him or her questions that deal with integrity.

If a worker reports to a sales manager, for example, that worker should ask the boss what he or she did to ensure that the company made quota at the end of the quarter.

What's more, if a company is in financial trouble, the worker should ask what the company will do to increase sales, Mr. Christian said.

"Trust comes from communication," he said. "You have to resist sending out e-mails and instead talk to people in person.

"Show a willingness to answer questions and communicate openly with your employees," Mr. Christian added.

And when that trust is lost: apologize.

"Be willing to admit your mistakes publicly," Dr. Windsor said.

"And if you are given a second chance, don't mess up again."

(Reprinted with permission of The Dallas Morning News)