I believe transparency has its limitations.
Hear me out on this for a minute.
Returning home to a snowy Washington, DC, in the midst of significant leadership transitions – Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau stepping down, the US election results being certified, and preparations for a new government in the US – I’ve been reflecting on something that has been on my mind for a long time.
I believe endless public coverage of political leaders has disincentivized progress and compromise.
Leadership requires communication, listening, negotiation, and compromise. Each of these elements requires a safe space for discussion and debate, away from the public eye.
- We need space to put aside our ego and listen to others.
- We need space to consider someone else’s point of view without being branded a traitor.
- We need space to acknowledge we might have been wrong without being branded a flip-flopper.
And yet, our hyper focus on transparency at all costs has worked against us.
Over the holidays, I listened to a fascinating podcast from Scientific American called Uncertain, about the ways uncertainty shapes science.
It blew my mind. And I realized uncertainty needs rebranding.
One concept in particular stopped me in my tracks (literally, I was going for a walk).
Host Christie Aschwanden talked about how uncertainty drives creativity. She said, “Uncertainty is a chance to learn something new” to which guest David Krakauer responded, “Learning is only possible when you don’t know.”
Imagine the creative, bipartisan solutions we could come up with if we stopped being certain and started opening up the chance to be wrong and learn from one another.
The second-by-second news cycle online and the public airing of all congressional discussions on CSPAN mean every action we take is being televised. As a result, we have stopped leading and started performing for the cameras.
We’re performing for our constituents, we’re performing for the media, we’re performing for the other side – telling people what they want to hear, placating them just in time for another short-term sales cycle…oops, I meant election cycle.
For example, President-elect Trump’s public tariff statements framed the negotiations in a highly visible and confrontational way, leaving Trudeau’s efforts—such as aligning provincial leaders and visiting Mar-a-Lago—unable to shift the narrative or produce a tangible resolution. This left many Canadians frustrated, as they felt their interests were not adequately defended. Public negotiations risk undermining trust, no matter the behind-the-scenes work.
For decades, political leaders would negotiate in private.
They’d have dinner together after the vote and some of them even shared apartments in DC when they were away from their districts. Now, with our always-on devices and our direct flights home, we don’t have that private, safe space away from public attention.
To be clear: transparency is critical as our leaders make decisions that affect our lives for generations to come. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said that sunlight is the best disinfectant: yes, and let’s remember that sunlight can also cause bleaching.
Let’s allow our leaders to create safe spaces where they can listen and learn – and then let’s hold them publicly accountable for their actions.
