I read an interesting piece on transparency. One point resonated with me; when there is trust, transparency is not needed. Think about that, if you trust someone there is no need for them to justify their actions or provide evidence of the truth their words. However, without trust, every word and action is suspect and supporting evidence required.
Trust
It is all about TRUST and mistrust. What causes mistrust? Where does it come from? Rich Becker in his post Sizing Us & Them, A Lesson in Transparency outlines two kinds of mistrust, functional and dysfunctional. Dysfunctional mistrust is made up in our heads. Its causes are many unhealthy suspicion, greed, or just because someone is different.
Functional mistrust comes from evidence of broken trust. Becker argues that functional mistrust is “the only one that warrants transparency as a foothold for restoration.”
While I agree that functional mistrust is a justification for required transparency, I would argue transparency is also needed in government. The concentration of political power is cause to require transparency. Becker agrees, suspicion of those who manage governmental power is appropriate.
At the Tribe, we must introduce checks and balances to ensure transparency and healthy management of power.
