Our Lips are Sealed

Timothy Johnson wrote an op-ed piece for the Des Moines Business Record  describing one of the key elements associated with many project failures: information hiding. He points out that numerous elements in the project environment can contribute to the free flow (or lack) of information.

From the article:

Project teams generally are not constructed of underhanded, lying, conniving individuals. Actually, most of the teams I’ve worked with are staffed with hard-working, diligent individuals who want what is best for the company. But if they’re so great, why aren’t they telling you what you really need to know?

…  

The remedy for this communication breakdown is both obviously simple and excruciatingly difficult: It boils down to trust and accountability. If the project team does not trust management, and if management does not hold the project team accountable, these problems will continue to hinder project performance. 

All of this seems clear. Yet, if it were really that simple, then information hiding and denial would not play such an important role in the failures described in this blog.