Strategic Communications Series #7
In Thou Shall Keep No Secrets, Part 1 & 2, I described how critical it is that education leaders not break this important trust-building commandment of communication. Equally important as a trust-building block is the commandment, Thou Shalt Be Honest. While keeping no secrets has mostly to do with giving people access to information, honesty has more to do with verbal and written statements that are actionable. In other words, do what you say you're going to do.
Honesty in communications appears to be a no-brainer. After all, we're living in the cancel culture where fact-checking is an occupation. What leader would not be honest? Well, think about the political atmosphere we exist in today. Alternative truths, sometimes referred to as alternate realities have stretched the boundaries of truth.
Leaders must sift through the information and follow the scientific method of disproving propositions to ensure no voices or opinions are being discounted or dismissed.
Here are a series of weekly messages that exemplify the Thou Shalt Be Honest commandment. These messages were delivered during a politically charged period when fear and uncertainty complicated the business of school governance and operations as a recall of California's governor led to a mudslinging campaign that further eroded trust in institutions.