JumpStart International Moment of Laughter Day (4/14/25)

QUOTE:  Transparency is not about restoring trust in institutions.  Transparency is the politics of managing mistrust. (Ivan Krastev) 

MESSAGE:  During our Administrator Academy this last week, my co-facilitator Carla Philibert and I were leading a discussion on transparency within schools.  A longer than expected discussion followed, in which the group identified and then wrestled with the interconnected concepts of transparency, trust, and affirmation.

I took a peek at Google Trends to see how each of those words has shown up in search terms since 2004, because it sure seems like they are on the rise. The uptick hasn’t been as steep as I expected.

Trust has been covered here before, and in that issue, ‘Transparency’ topped the list  of strategies to consider when building trust in the workplace. For this use of transparency, I like the definition from The Leadership Sphere:  “Transparency…involves openness and the willingness to share information, both positive and negative, with all relevant parties.” (Italics are mine)

Oxford Dictionary defines affirmation as “emotional support or encouragement.” In other words, looking for positive feedback.

When we only share the positive information, we are looking for affirmation rather than being transparent. The group last Monday came to the consensus that often in schools, people (in this case administrators), often use the guise of transparency to gain affirmation.  This behavior can either be a response to a lack of trust or can result in an erosion of trust prompted by an oversharing of information, often with no explanation.

Here are two scenarios:  

1. A parent posts a negative comment on Facebook about the school saying that they heard that the funds from a fundraiser were going toward whole-school programs rather than the end-of-year field trip for their kid, as advertised.  In response, the school principal, in an effort to maintain community-school trust, publishes a full accounting of the use of funds on the school website’s main page, and continues to do so with all future fundraisers.  This deluge of information causes a subsequent post on Facebook to ponder whether the school is trying to hide something.  QUESTION:  are they being transparent or seeking affirmation?
   
   
2. A school principal is trying to mend some deep mistrust between staff and administration. In their weekly newsletter, the principal decides to increase transparency by celebrating all the good things happening in the school - even highlighting a staff member in each issue.  QUESTION:  are they being transparent or seeking affirmation?

WHAT IF the principals in each of these situations made their procedures easily available, and advertised the availability rather than the procedures themselves?  Perhaps on the school website there is a page dedicated to testing and other school data (not all of that will be positive).  The administrator could then use individual conversations rather than blanket emails/publications to build personal and procedural trust.

THIS WEEK TRY THIS:  When you publish or share something, are you giving people access to information, or are you looking for someone to appreciate you?

DAD JOKE:  What do you call a nervous javelin thrower?  Shakespeare
DAD JOKE #2 (in honor of Moment of Laughter Day):  What do you call a magician who loses is magic?  Ian.