The Dalai Lama on…. Organizational Change?

I had the honor and priveledge to hear the 14th Dalai Lama speak yesterday as he was receiving the 2010 International Freedom Conductor Award. As you can imagine, he had lots of interesting things to say.

At one point, he was talking about censorship in China and spoke about how a lack of transparency has led to an absense of trust between China and other countries, as well as within Chinese society.

It struck me how this same dynamic happens within organizations during change. We have been advising leaders for years to open up, tell people what is going on, and be transparent… during business as usual and especially during major change. Keeping secrets and guarding information degrades trust and inhibits the ability to build trust in the future. It’s like pouring poison on the ground – it kills what is there, and keeps anything from growing there in the near future.