Knowledge is power and the fallacy of open communication

Being a keen observer of managerial behaviour I have always been perplexed by the paradox displayed by many managers when it comes to open communication. Most managers want their staff to be open in their communication with a “no surprises” policy but actively vet and manage any information they provide to their superiors who inevitably demand the same open information. I have even dealt with a CEO who rabidly demanded open information from his team then furiously controlled and manipulated the information he provided to the board of directors.

I often wondered how the managers in question thought this behaviour was reasonable, after all it is not exactly leading by example is it?

Of course seen through the lens of power and politics this behaviour makes perfect sense, information asymmetry is very powerful, our market economy and all political systems are built on this principle.

But is it leadership and will it stand up to the challenges of a networked economy? The answer is probably yes, even where a leader shares openly with their team, the team can develop an information advantage over other teams through information asymmetry. I am still uncomfortable with this idea though, how does it reconcile to leadership quotes such as the following Chinese Proverb “not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow”?

David Gwillim
Exploring the value of IT to organisations
email: david.gwillim@optusnet.com.au
blog: http://www.businessitvalue.blogspot.com/