CODE OF SILENCE

We all have that one person we tell anything and everything to and because letting out what we keep in can be therapeutic, we often hold nothing back. We have grown accustomed to the saying, "a problem shared is half solved" but what happens when a problem is shared with the wrong person? I have heard stories about friends betraying trusts by saying things they were not authorised to say. Sometimes, the problems do not necessarily lie in what has been said, but  in who it's been said to. We often underestimate the dangers of not handling information appropriately and the benefits of conveying it to the right recipient. I have witnessed businesses collapse, marriages end and friendships broken from the inappropriate use of information.

"The most valuable commodity I know of is information" - Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)

A few months back, before the pandemic, my boss instructed me to work on a "confidential" project. This was unusual and different from the previous projects I handled as I had to withhold information from fellow staff in my unit. I was not permitted to discuss the assignment with staff who were not authorised to have information about it regardless of their grade or status. I realised that my boss had a level of trust in me and the onus was on me to handle diligently and execute to perfection. In the cause of working on the project, my attention was drawn to the delegation of assignments in my unit and I discovered that there was a pattern; various projects were assigned based on the perceived ability to adequately handle. I thought about the qualities and skills I possessed and the behaviours I must have exhibited to warrant such a privilege.

Once a project is completed, it is filed accordingly and classified; General, Confidential or Secret for adequate preservation of information and to ensure that the content is accessible to those authorised to view it. The same can be applied to our relationships and the manner in which we handle personal information. How much information about yourself do you give out? does everyone have access to them? do you protect the ones that can cause potential harm if found in the wrong hands? 

I believe that in order to maximise relationships, they should be classified based on the information that you are willing to share with the various parties. 

It is important to analyse your relationships because it reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the various parties concerned and enables you to reflect on yours as well. What information are people willing to share with you? what do you do with the information that you are privy to? can you be trusted with sensitive information? 

We should note that specific information are not meant for everyone as some people may lack the ability to handle certain information. In other words, everything that we say is not meant for everyone. Think twice before you share information especially when it is valuable and if in doubt, "Do not tell secrets to those whose faith and silence you have not already tested" - Elizabeth I

Loretta Laoye