Workplace secrecy banishes information into seclusion

Tim McGuire is a past president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and former editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He writes about workplace issues.

When I was 7 years old, learning to ride my bike was always an adventure because of my physical handicaps. The day before I was to start second grade at Catholic school, I ran into the much-feared second-grade teacher, Sister Francis Mary.

Kablam! I literally ran into the startled, defenseless nun with my bike just after missing an oncoming car. I darn near killed myself and her. Killing a nun would have gone unquestionably on my permanent record.

Sister Francis Mary had never met me before then, but she gave me the dickens for being reckless. She yelled and scolded as I trembled. I crossed the toughest nun in school before I even started class! I was a mess. How was I going to face this monster nun ever again?

I fretted about my situation so much I was sick for the first two days of my elementary school career. I was too frightened to face her, and I didn't have the courage to tell my parents why I was a nervous wreck. For two days, I harbored my terrible secret. Finally, at the end of the second day, with my parents growing very impatient, I came clean about my horrible misdeed.

My parents took the news remarkably well and, to my shock, Sister Francis Mary seemed to totally forget about the incident. Once I came clean and got my secret out in the open, nothing was as bad as I thought it would be.

Secrets can make you sick.

Whenever I think about hiding things I think of my encounter with Sister Francis Mary. I really believe that incident taught me, in some small way, that openness and secrecy are ethical issues. They are about right and wrong.

We keep too many secrets in the workplace. I was in a company the other day where employees complained that everybody works in silos and does their own thing. They complained there's no communication, and information is hoarded.

In other companies, I hear that nobody is honest and straightforward. Suspicion reigns and people whisper half-truths behind each other's backs. Employees suspect problems are swept under the rug.

Knowledge is power, and people across companies try to protect their power. Too few companies realize ethical choices are rooted in openness. The corporate business scandals of the last two years were all rooted in secrecy. The insiders knew stuff nobody else knew, including other "insiders."

Information has incredible value. From the markets of Wall Street to the city planning office, there's information that could make a person rich. Why should you have that information when I don't? The SEC feels so strongly about this moral position that it sends people to jail for gaining access to inside information and using it improperly.

The Enron scandal became so nasty because it appears certain executives knew all hell was going to break loose, while the average retiree had no clue. Guess who took a bath?

The Catholic Church had a tragic year because it chose secrecy as its modus operandi. Before he was forced to resign, Boston's Cardinal Law came to understand that secrecy was his problem. Last April, he wrote, "We now realize both within the Church and society at large that secrecy often inhibits healing and places others at risk." What a stunning discovery Cardinal Law made way too late.

There is a moral dimension to sharing information. The free and open sharing of information can be in the very best interests of the community and your workplace.

Tip for your search

Don't worry about other people's secrets. Examine your own work. If you win the lottery tomorrow, or worse, you get hit by a truck, are there any secrets that will embarrass you? If so, fix them right now and from now on operate as if everything you do will make the front page of Sunday's newspaper.