Those who work with and around me know that I rarely close my office
door, even if I’m having a meeting with someone.
Transparency rules (or should).
Generally, organizational
issues are best dealt with from a full-and-open-disclosure mindset/environment. Any business conducted behind closed doors
automatically arouses suspicion, which usually fosters lack of trust.
Trust is, in my view, the golden commodity.
Supply problems,
profit-loss concerns, organizational morale issues, technology hiccups, etc., belong to the organization and efforts
to hide or conceal those from its members is an act of futility (if not
outright insanity). Secrecy often implies conspiracy. Conspiracy often implies illegality or
unethical behavior. Illegality or lack of ethics cost us respect, business,
profit, TRUST!
Ronald Reagan is said to
have famously noted that “the walls have ears.” Indeed. We should think twice about closing the door
(I think it best to do so only when personal privacy issues are the primary
concern).
Trust is a “force multiplier” (a phrase I learned from Colin
Powell).
Anything that causes lack
of trust (like lots of closed-door meetings) works to the opposite effect.
I remember the day i had two parents squabbling over how the steaks at prom were going to be cooked. You told me that day there were no secrets and I haven't forgotten. After two years of shut doors and constant whispering, I can also totally agree that all trust was gone. Again you nailed it!
ReplyDeleteThere are NO SECRETS, TJ; no use pretending that there are. Thanks for reading my blatherings.
ReplyDelete