Image Source: https://mguhlin.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/jorgeisintrouble.jpg?w=300

The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.
Source: Government Code Chapter 552 – Public Information

1. Ever been called into your supervisor’s office for something you wrote?
2. Ever wondered if you were going to get fired for something you wrote and published in a print magazine?
3. Ever blogged something that is so true, people just took it to be about their situation even though it had nothing to do with them?

I have been. I wrote something that was interpreted as critical of my supervisor’s leadership (or lack thereof). The funny thing, though, was that I’d written the article in question 1 month before it was published and appeared…1 month and 2 weeks before I was even hired for the position I was in. Yet, my boss thought I’d written the article about her in the current job. Obviously, it was delicious feeling to point out the time difference…I couldn’t very well write about future events I knew nothing about. It is also a testament to how similar two school districts in Texas are.

In response to question #3, I found myself in this situation as I wrote about a district I’d worked in years ago. The boss who called me on the carpet thought the situation I wrote about was current at the time–again, a new position unrelated to the previous situation. While I was able to easily share the real story–providing names–the stigma of truth-telling hitting home never quite left. After all, in these two cases, truth transcends situations and represents more than one.

What about you? If you answered YES to any one of these questions, then you’re in the wonderfully elite group of writers/bloggers who have to endure misunderstandings from those who would like to control what others say and do.

Fortunately, I live and write in America, land of the free, home of the brave. People have fought for my right to write and speak my mind, to own the consequences of that writing, and I am profoundly grateful.

These thoughts came to mind as I read Mr. Vilson’s Guide to Jerking a Teacher-Blogger. He invoked my blog, even though he didn’t know it, with this paragraph:

Right then, I realized that, around the corner, where ed-techies and Twitterholics never venture, infrequent visitors of the web and unintentional saboteurs congregate to discuss ways of discouraging people from using the Internet.

Although I wish I could say something profound in response to what Jose Vilson writes, I’m not so profound anymore. The truth is, I’m just “ho-hum” about it. You know, these things happen. We’re dealing with human beings who are going to misinterpret everything because they look at it from THEIR point of view…and that’s OK. In the end, I want every person to have the opportunity to make mistakes in public, to be transparent about what they are thinking, to share their “issues” with your writing and work.

It’s better that they do that than whisper in the corners, hoarding their ill will like some treasure troves, doling it out in small measure like 30 pieces of silver. I’m tempted to reach for some profound bit of wisdom in one of the sacred texts I’ve chosen to surround myself with, but instead, I’ll agree and disagree with these words from Clay Shirky:

Secrets have always driven me nuts. Social media has made it possible for everyone to questions the motivations behind why someone does something…and, it has heightened the need for increased transparency. Just because a school district or organization web site says, “This is the truth…trust me” does not mean that inquiry and questionning end there.

New technologies empower each of us to be leaders, to do what is right and more easily help others understand what we are doing and why through the links we make. Consider Michael Fullan’s list of 6 Secrets to Change:

1. Love Your Employees (view videos for each)
2. Connect Peers with Purpose
3. Capacity Building Prevails
4. Learning Is the Work
5. Transparency Rules
6. Systems Learn

When people fear for their jobs or their reputation, it is unlikely that they will take risks. Fear causes a focus on the short-term to neglect of the mid or longer term. Fear creates a focus on the individual rather than the group. Teamwork suffers.

So, go ahead, supervisors of the world (myself included since I supervise)…make people fear for their job or reputation. Will that get the organization what it needs?

Conversations whispered in hallways, behind closed doors do nothing except engender distrust, giving the illusion of leadership to those who are frightened for their jobs. But, illusions just won’t work when everyone is connected to each other…in fact, if I don’t know what you’re doing, there is sure to be someone near you who is willing to share…and will with audio, photos, and/or video.

Isn’t it time we put illusions of leadership aside, stopped chastising the people who write about those truths we so easily set aside, and embraced transparency?

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure