The Magic of Accessible Knowledge

The Magic of Accessible Knowledge

John Paul Derryberry

I was a young professional, sitting in an office, upset about a decision about how to proceed with a work issue. It happened often with me; I was never good at accepting unexplained dumb choices. We all have been there, yet I was getting a lecture that I didn't have the standing, tenure, or whatever excuse my current supervisor was throwing at me, with the current hip professional word jargon, to get me to stop challenging their choices. Throughout my life history, that type of authority and word choices never worked to get me to quit. I needed to know the process behind how we came to this choice.

In a world where we can Google any information we need at the touch of a finger, somehow, we still have leaders who lead "because I said so". It felt like an odd choice when I was a follower of leaders, and it feels even more bizarre now that I'm a leader myself. It's a weird power play that doesn't really have to exist. And mostly, what it accomplishes is preparing the future leaders of your agency, school, or business to be ill-equipped to lead people. Humans crave knowing the why behind things- why does my significant other love me; why does my kid go from zero to a hundred just because I utter the word "bedtime"; and why did my leader make this choice?

A fantastic researcher, Simon Sinek, has spent numerous hours researching the reasons why it is so vital for people to know "why". Yet, we still often coat leadership in secrecy and do the cloak-and-dagger act. It got me labeled a poor employee, because I wanted information to understand. The funny thing is,,, we strive to meet accessibility goals in so many settings, from how we construct buildings, to promotions, to the expanding definition of numerous social relationships. Still, many leaders keep the ins and outs of real leadership secret. Maybe they are saving it for a book deal, which probably isn't coming soon.

All I know as a leader is that giving people the knowledge of how and why I make choices, and sharing the information I use to make decisions, has allowed a wonderful thing to occur. They get it; it's almost as if making things accessible, including knowing why and how, has made them realize I'm not bounding from one choice to the next without going through a thoughtful process. It's not that they always agree. Plus, it would be incredibly dull if they always agreed with me. An agency of people is a scary place. It's knowing that the knowledge that is around us can be accessed and used. It's that type of access that allows for outstanding innovation and progress; it's where the magic is. In my line of work, we need that magic to change lives successfully.