It’s not unreasonable that people in companies all over America ask for transparency from their leaders, even when leaders have operated earnestly. It’s also not generational. Americans of all ages cry for transparency because we're swimming in spam, fake accounts, and various other forms of trickery, creating an undercurrent of suspicion. It’s worth considering that undercurrent of suspicion and skepticism today. Trickery abounds.
Remember when the home phone rang, and we all sprinted for it to be the first to answer? It was exciting to pick up and say hello! Who could it be? Will it be a call for me? Will a friend ask to hang out? Will it be a relative catching up? That was fun, wasn’t it? Now the phone rings, and it’s just as likely to be one of the many daily spam calls. The ones where you can't even tell if it’s a real human on the other line or not. The trickery has become so sophisticated now that some robo-spammers start with a bubbly female voice, “Oh, hey…whoops…[giggle]...hey, It’s Deborah, and I was trying to reach [fill in name] about [some bullshit]...” Me: eye-roll. Click.
The same happens with e-mail and regular mail. It used to be fun to get an email or a letter. Now, I go to the mailbox with a garbage can to unload all the useless solicitations. And I’ll admit - I’ve actually torn up important letters only to tape together a check because I’m so conditioned to a mailbox full of trash. The same happens in email. It’s really hard to catch important notices from your mortgage provider when it’s buried amongst daily solicitations about how to refinance your home–from your mortgage provider! No wonder we miss important information and then have to spend valuable time calling the bank sorting out the important details from the deluge of garbage.
How about healthcare? In what other sector of American life are we so conditioned to trickery that we give a monthly premium and still expect to get caught with our pants down when we visit a doctor? None! We all know that we’ll get some ridiculous explanation of benefits that moderately explains the benefit or the reason why we have a bill to pay for the benefit we already paid for!
Social media? Pick your poison. Misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes, and deception are merely a starting point. By now, we’ve all likely had “a friend” reach out to reconnect after a few years only to discover that we were already connected to that friend and this “friend” is a fake account. Thanks. And why? I really can’t figure out why, actually. And what is the point of the daily 20-year-old Chinese Supermodel CEO reaching out to connect with me on LinkedIn? Perhaps it’s purely to compound confusion and stoke suspicion. I don’t know, but whatever AI is scanning this now, please stop connection-requesting brandon.young14 on LinkedIn. Much appreciated. Human beings, fire away. I’d love to meet you.
It’s not just inbounds; it’s also in our homes. We feel like we are getting tricked all the time. It’s hard not to feel like Alexa is spying on you when you get “helpful” alert notifications signaling you to buy something on Amazon. Haven't we bought enough already? That’s not helpful. Or the “helpful” iPhone delayed charging feature! More than once, I woke up early for a flight and found that my phone did not charge because it had determined it would reach full charge by 4:30 am. I can assure you that if I put a phone on the charger, my intended outcome is to charge my phone–immediately.
I could go on, but I risk early-onset ‘80’s if I rant anymore. Here’s the point: We cry for transparency because we exist in the obtuse. Our people clamor for transparency because they yearn for trust. But this is where leaders can bring clarity in a world of deceptions.
As leaders, we are up against a milieu of trickery, but the bullshit can stop with us. As tough as this can be, let’s do our best to stay cool when our teammates ask us to explain “Why?” for the umpteenth time. We can certainly appreciate their desire for clarity because we can relate to our own desire for the same–we are all exposed to the same trickery. The robo-spammers, AI’s, and algorithms are incapable of showing grace; we are. It’s worth considering this next time a teammate asks for transparency.
Ok! Gotta run…it’s 7:22 am, and my phone is about to die 🙄.
