"I don't lie to people. I don't need to lie. I've never been so at ease with my relationship with the press, my relationship with people, because I know I've been completely transparent. That's purifying. That's beneficial." - Lance Armstrong (via zaadz Wisdom daily quote newsletter)
My gut tells me that corporate bloggers that have been able to communicate in an unfiltered, uncensored (and censors include our near-tyrannical self-censor) genuine voice have found the perks of the experience to be "purifying" as Armstrong states. It's a refreshing change from a stilted, censored, constantly "on guard" conversations that occur daily not only in corporate America but in nearly all interactions.
I can't say I've been following the response to Global PR Blog Week in any depth while tooling about in the Irish countryside, but I did note Ross Mayfield's post and ensuing comments as well as Roland Tanglao's "PR Is Dead" post. Both speak to their own doubts and distrust in PR and its role as we shift to the unfiltered, transparent voice of participatory media, including blogs.
I have more to say on this, but right now I think perhaps one role a 'next-generation' PR or marketing professionals can serve is in being a coach to organizations as they make the shift to unfiltered authentic voices in communications. One would have valid concerns about whether all professionals are capable of making this shift when the perception seems to be that PR's role is to whitewash, 'spin', and manipulate messages rather than participate in authentic exchange.
The more I think about it the more I think that authenticity and transparency - whether in PR or blogs or any type of communication - is fundamentally about relationships and that sometimes we each stumble in being authentic and genuine in our own one-on-one interactions. If we do not have the skills (or guts or awareness) to be authentic with just one person at a time, it's a huge leap to expect authenticity and transparency at a public and global level.
Just before my trip to Ireland and U.K., I stumbled upon three books (one recommended through the blogosphere) that are all related to authenticity and transparency. I'll probably be reading all three over the course of the next couple of months. And I've already mentioned two of them [1, 2].
The three books are:
- Awareness: A De Mello Spirituality Conference in His Own Words, by Anthony De Mello
- You Are the Message: Getting What You Want by Being Who You Are, by Roger Ailes and Jon Kraushar
- Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life - One Conversation at a Time, by Susan Scott
I'm in the midst of writing an overdue review on the book Awareness for 800-CEO-READ blog right now, so stay tuned.
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