ABSTRACT
As we have seen, open communication or information sharing is certainly a dilemma for people in leadership positions. On the one hand, leadership experts and theories would suggest openness of communication, or the concomitant sharing of organizational information, are good things. It makes sense to be open with employees for such purposes as the fostering of employee commitment, the lessening of cynicism, enhanced problem solving, and so forth. In addition, the integrity and interpersonal skills that accompany being an open communicator are associated with managerial advancement within and across the organizations in an individual’s career, as opposed to derailment in that career (Van Velsor & Leslie, 1995). On the other hand, recalcitrant or untrustworthy subordinates, personal inclinations, pressures from superiors, and so on, might make managers reluctant to give negative feedback, to keep information secret, or to deceive and spin. They might feel inclined to engage in what we referred to in chapter 8 as the practice of the mushroom theory. So what’s the solution?
