When Honesty Goes Missing: What Connells and Purple Bricks Reveal About Leadership Culture

This week’s BBC Panorama exposé, “Undercover Estate Agent”, lifted the lid on troubling practices inside two of the UK’s most recognised real estate firms — Connells and Purple Bricks. The allegations? That both firms put profit incentives ahead of client trust. Staff reportedly pressured buyers and sellers into using in-house services, with Connells allegedly labelling clients as “hot” only if they used the company’s mortgage arm — even when higher offers were on the table. Purple Bricks was accused of overvaluing homes to lure listings, then pushing sellers into inflated conveyancing packages.

Yes, just 'own it'!

These aren’t just rogue behaviours. They’re symptoms of a deeper problem: structural dishonesty baked into the business model.

And here’s the hard truth: leadership created this culture. Honesty in leadership isn’t just about telling the truth — it’s about how you build systems and being consistent in every thought and action (trait #2 in my book, "The 10 Traits of A Compassionate Leader'. If your reward structure encourages manipulation, then every smiling “everything’s fine” becomes a lie. These agents didn’t lie to be malicious — they lied because the system rewarded them for doing so.

The question compassionate leaders must ask is: What kind of behaviour do our systems quietly encourage?

In high-performance cultures, honesty often becomes the first casualty. Leaders hide behind targets, claiming plausible deniability, while middle managers learn to game KPIs and frontline staff bear the burden of delivering dishonest incentives.

But make no mistake — a dishonest culture costs more than it saves. Reputational damage, staff burnout, customer churn and legal risk aren’t line items. They’re ticking time bombs.

Contrast this with companies who lead with transparent, values-aligned honesty. Patagonia famously told customers not to buy new jackets unless they really needed them. That campaign boosted both trust and revenue. Why? Because customers trusted the company was willing to lose short-term sales to protect long-term principles.

Here’s the practical leadership shift: Don’t just ask, “Are we telling the truth?” Ask, “Is the way we work aligned with the truth?”

This means:

• Designing incentive structures that reward transparency.

• Training leaders to own hard conversations.

• Publicly addressing mistakes before a whistle-blower does it for you.
  

In my own leadership journey, I once congratulated someone knowing I’d already made a decision to let them go. I thought I was sparing them pain. I wasn’t. I was protecting myself from discomfort. That moment taught me that dishonesty is often just fear with a suit on.

If you want loyalty, build honesty into your operating model. Because as Panorama reminded us this week — if you don’t confront your cultural cracks, someone else will. Join the Compassion is A Rebellion https://www.compassioninbusiness.co.uk/jointherebellion