If you don’t track your goals socially — or in real time — they may be less accurate than you think. Research led by Jaclyn M. Jensen of George Washington University shows that as goals or projects come to a close, those involved are more likely to conceal information about status.

Researchers confronted groups of undergraduates with a fictional business project in which a significant problem arose, and were asked to decide how much more to invest in it and then report their reasoning. If the project was 90% complete, 81% failed to mention anything negative about it. But if the project was 10% complete, only 37.5% reported all was well.

Important business decisions get made based on the information communicated about the status of a goal. If this information is not accurate, managers can easily put the business at risk.

To ensure that information about your project isn’t missing or concealed, meet regularly with project teams. In these meetings, have stakeholders commit to actions, and report on events, in a recallable place. This way, when the project is up for review, all parties are aware of the actions and changes that will impact success. This makes it more difficult for any one member to avoid mentioning project details that they want to conceal. This type of increased visibility and communication around real events is the key to learning from any project.