I have had an observation that I was wondering if you guys could relate to. It is knowing when to be quiet. By this I mean knowing when you can and cannot share information between people, both inside and outside the organization. When is it ok to share information you heard in a meeting with someone inside your organization. When is it ok for outside the organization? How do you deal with an inquisitive person at work that your supervisor told you to say nothing to?
While you may not be working for a government you might have experience with this subject. I have been finding myself trying to cope with the desire to share information to others who have interest in the subject. I recently sat in a meeting with two council members and the director of our Parks and Rec department. There was a discussion about other options to offer parks during the summer. Because of the budget cuts the Town was unable to begin construction on a new park and the entire project has been shelved. Recognizing that the Town still needs to offer additional park space for the summer, the idea of contracting with local schools to use their fields was discussed. The idea was to have the Town pay for the operation and maintenance of the fields and the school would essentially allow their fields to be used as a park for the public. It is an idea that several other municipalities have already done and we were going to start making calls to see if we could establish a similar program.
A few days later I stopped by a fund raising car wash. When I got out of my car I was greeted by the coach of a local girl’s youth soccer team raising funds to go to competitions and for new uniforms. I told the coach that I was an intern for the Town and I asked “What can the Town do to help you?” He replied that they are having trouble finding locations to play. The team had to rotate places to practice as the fields they played on required to be rested. The coach told me that he was disappointed to hear that the park idea was shelved, as that was going to be their new field to practice and play.
Naturally, I wanted to tell him “Hey we are on top of this. We know that there are not enough parks in Town. We are sorry that we had to hold off on the new park, but we are working on getting you a replacement. We are going to get all of our schools to open to the public and you can play wherever you want.” But instead I made my comments more vague. I told him that we have a couple of council members working on just that very issue. I cannot go into details but if you give me your contact information I can update you with the progress. He gave me his name and number and I gave him mine. I could tell he was a little disappointed with the fact that I could tell him specifics. I feel that it is so important to tell the people everything we are working on to show how hard we are working. I want people to know that local government is far more responsive than they think. When we respond to problems a lot of consideration goes into presentations to Council and the execution of programs. However, I held back and now I wait until the parks information becomes “declassified”.
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Joe: This is an extremely interesting subject and I can completely relate to the tendency to share information openly, honestly, and sincerely. However, two things come to mind. First, this conversation should also extend to the internet. Everything posted on the internet - personal and private thoughts, conversations, photos - becomes public. Therefore, I would caution that if a person hesitates to share verbally, they should refrain from writing it on the internet. Second, anything information that is currently a idea rather than a fact, can possibly remain an idea and never materialize. Although your department is strongly committed to pursuing the school park solution, there is always a chance it may not materialize. Therefore, information shared with the public may provide them immediate consolation and hope, but, if not materialized, becomes government "breaking promises," "getting caught up in politics," and "not doing their job" in the public eye.
ReplyDeleteI feel you here. Although, I started my more "professional" career working in a substance abuse rehab, so I learned to deal with it in a different way. In my case, federal law required me to not release a lot of information about the people who received treatment. This led to a lot of awkward situations where I was obligated not to tell local governmental authorities of some activity, or even family members of those in treatment.
ReplyDeleteFor dealing with the interested public it may be a good strategy to recommend them to make a let their people in government know. Often I find that the loudest problem gets attention.
I would also say that there are a couple of things that help me to "choose my battles". First, figuring out where I am positioned in the situation and then what my goals are. It could be that I am cynical, but it helps to scale back my higher ambitions from time to time.
I concur with both Reginald and Chase on this, it is a very difficult position to be in. In some cases I have found that it is more about how you explain or discuss something, rather than what is said. In matters that are not specifically stated whether you can disclose them or not, a broad statement may be proper. I also sometimes find myself asking, "would my supervisor or executive director, etc, want me to talk about this issue" and "how would they respond."
ReplyDeleteAlso, understand the legality on sensitive topics, something Reginald touched on. As an intern I was told a few times, it was better to say less on more, than more on less. Meaning, you can discuss projects, just do not imply that by talking about something, merely does not mean it is a certainty. Chase also gives a great point to that, stating that once it becomes public record via internet or whatever form of communication, it may become a promise from that form of government. This can cause problems for any organization, whether in the public or private sector.