What If Full Disclosure Was The Default?<\/h2>\n

Whew! You\u2019ve just finished speaking at your annual address to the company. The people in the room seem pleased, and the absence of untimely \u2018beeps\u2019 indicates that all of the folks connected via the telephone are still with you.<\/em><\/p>\n

You have 15 minutes left, so you decide to open the channels for Q&A. Since you\u2019re trying to promote more communication in the organization, you encourage people to ask whatever is on their minds.<\/em><\/p>\n

But you privately acknowledge that there are some questions you hope they don\u2019t ask…some that would require you, on the spot, to decide how much information to share. Being the leader, you know it all. And it can be nerve-wracking to make sure you are packaging exactly the right information for the right audiences.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why Not Share it All?!<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s a remedy for your dilemma: Share it all! Keep no secrets, no boundaries. Just put it all out there! And do that as a general practice.<\/p>\n

Tell everyone who didn\u2019t get the promotion the reasons for selecting someone else. Post salaries on your website. Call a meeting and walk every employee through the details of the company\u2019s financials, including how much you<\/em> make. Tell them what the Board expects of you and the organization. Explain that you are searching for a strategic partner. Stop treating information like it should be classified as \u2018top secret\u2019.<\/p>\n

Ok, Maybe Not…<\/h3>\n

Sharing everything is not practical. But it\u2019s an interesting mindset to explore – one that starts from the perspective of why shouldn\u2019t we share that<\/em> versus our typical approach of why should we share that<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The former starts from a point of abundance. The latter comes from a perspective of limitations. Which do you think will result in sharing the most information? Clearly the former. You will end up with more when you start with everything and pare down versus starting with nothing and building up.<\/p>\n

Setting Limits on Sharing<\/h3>\n

What are some common reasons we limit the amount of information we share? Maybe…<\/p>\n

\n
• We think others can\u2019t handle the truth.<\/li>\n
• We think we are doing them a favor by protecting them from something we perceive as uncomfortable or unpleasant.<\/li>\n
• We believe we could lose our advantage if we share our knowledge.<\/li>\n
• We decide they just don\u2019t need<\/em> to know it all.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  There are definitely some legitimate reasons why not<\/em> to share the whole story. But we need to make sure our reasons are indeed legitimate – and not just convenient.<\/p>\n

  The most compelling reasons for sharing abundantly is that the more you share<\/em>, the more you engage<\/em>. Employees who know only what they know will do only what they have to do. Their job will be a task list and will lack purpose.<\/p>\n

  Employees who are given a window into the big picture will be more likely to attach to the mission of the organization and find ways to contribute that go beyond the task list.<\/p>\n

  Congratulations! You made it through the Q&A period. A couple of the questions were a little tricky, but you navigated them pretty well. As you think about communicating in the future, stick with this theme of sharing more. It looks like it might work out well for you.<\/em><\/p>\n

   <\/p>\n

  Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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