Tag Archives: secret information

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Sharing

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Typically each of us is full of information.  Some are top secret, secret, confidential, restricted, official, unclassified, personal or public, to reference the more common classification levels.

Information classification is a tool to assist with determining what you can share and with whom.  Country secrecy laws and information privacy acts are in place to create consequences for inappropriate use of information.

Basically it is recognized that information is power (not my catch phrase) and the use of information (i.e., leveraging your power) should be regulated.

Need to know

What do others need to know and what will be the impact if they don’t know?  For me, rather than data classification, this is the guiding principle to determining when to disclose information.

Of course, legal ramifications and cultural considerations need to be taken into account, yet my personal experience is information held back causes more harm than it ever prevents.

As a general rule, it’s not possible to accurately gauge others need to know, and more importantly what will happen if they don’t know.  This leads me to be more likely to share openly as long as I am sure of conformance to ethical and legal constraints.

It’s a Power Play

Using my knowledge for personal gain (i.e., as a power tool) does not fit with my own personal philosophy.  My own experience has been positive in this regard.  Sharing what I know has been a far more effective influencing tool than hoarding and releasing the information strategically.

My advice, share openly, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the positive results.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Secret Information

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The foundation of political maneuvering uses information to enhance your power.   In these cases I refer to politics as methods or tactictics employed within an organization (public or private)for purpose of effecting control (i.e., power)

Secret Information

The security level assigned to information is used to determine who can view it.   The use of classification is  intended to allow the holder of the information a fair and easy way to control it’s use.

Conceptually the information could be misused.  The problem is restricting the availability of information can protect but it can also harm.

In some cases, information may be withheld from you in order to enable the holder to manipulate you to achieve their personal goals.

For Example

If your address was considered secret, and you called for emergency assistance but passed out before giving your address.  The first responders asks the phone company for your address but it is withheld because it’s secret information.

Not having your address in the wrong hands does make sense, however as noted, having the information withheld in some situations could be disasterous.

Sharing Ideas

I have always believed the best approach is to share as openly as possible.  In this way you can avoid the situation where the witholding of information has negative impacts.

Of course you could share information that causes you harm ( like your credit card number and PIN).  The really harmful information you should withold is typically relatively identifiable.

Using information to manipulate events in your favour might have some value, but is it ethical?

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Sharing Imformation

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Who do I tell and what I tell them?  These are questions people are constantly asking themselves, whether conciously or unconsciously. This is a filtering process.

These questions are not intended to imply that we will share all the information we have but rather that we will determine if we can or should share some or none (The answer to the first question could be no one.)

If you are going to share something, what you will share comes into play.  Underlying this filtering process is motivation for sharing.  This influences the what and even how.

What’s the Purpose

All communication or lack thereof has a purpose.  There are four basic categories into which information sharing falls.  These are:

  • unburdening (lessen your guilt)
  • personal gain  ( this includes a wide variety of motivations from monetary to self worth)
  • altruistic (for the benefit of others)
  • malicious (to attack or harm others, could be coupled with gain on your part)

Withholding information can be as effective as sharing and during the filtering – whom do I tell and what – the decsion to not tell could be because that appears to be the best way to achieve the underlying objective.

In a flash

The really scary part is the filtering process often happens without a great deal of concious thought or examination of pro’s and con’s.  For most, it is just managed intuitively.

A thought pops in your head, is mulled briefly and then shared or not.  During that brief interval the reasons to communicate or hold back and what to say and how to position it are determined.

Often this leads to misunderstanding, frustration and conflict.  What we say, to whom and how we contextualize the information is so critical and important to get it right, yet alas, we spend so little time figuring it out.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Secret Information

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Open, clear and honest information sharing is critical if not the most important underpinning of high performing teams.  Have you ever been surprised when finding out information that was intentionally withheld?

Unfortunately using information to gain leverage (i.e., a power play) is all too common.  Often justified by classifying the information as political, private or confidential.

Many times this classification is just rationalization, to hide the real purpose.  That is using information for personal gain.  I often interract with people who salivate over the opportunity to aquire secret information.

Is sharing always good?

Is there any information you should not share with others?  My own view is no, everything can and should be shared.  This view is not widely held.

Laywers frequently advise clients to remain silent.  The argument is to do otherwise could work against you, particularly in the case of active law suites (as one example).

For me that misused phrase “The truth will set you free” is actually valid.  I say misused, in recognition of the dictators and despots that have used it throughout human history have not always had good intentions.

I have been labled naive, but my own real experience has been, the outcomes, particularly in team and organizational environments, are  consistently better when information is shared as it becomes known, whether good or bad.

It is not about the nature of the information but rather the message sent when secret information does not exist.

How many people feel good when someone says to them slyly, “Interesting thinking, too bad you don’t know what I know.  Unfortunately what I know is special information exclusive to the powerful people, so I cannot share it with the likes of you”.

Oh yeah, that is motivating.