confine important information to the executive suite. They
treat it as an executive perk, like the company jet. But whenever
possible, information should be shared throughout the organi-
zation, whether it is a workplace or a nation. Obviously certain
trade and national secrets must be kept. But most information is
not sensitive, and sharing it allows followers to make informed
decisions and act accordingly. Those who are given information
are brought closer to the heart of the organization. Morale im-
proves, often boosting performance. Alternatively, lack of can-
dor lowers morale. The worst possible scenario is one in which
people are given false information. In my experience, the fol-
lower who discovers he has been lied to is never the same. Thus
are enemies born.
A vivid case in point is Scott McClellan, one-time press
spokesman for George W. Bush. McClellan was a faithful,
even avid supporter of the president. And then he discovered
his superiors had lied to him about White House involvement
in the politically motivated outing of CIA agent Valerie
Plame. Their lack of candor caused McClellan to mislead,
however unintentionally, the White House press corps and
other media covering the Plame affair. Even more devastating
for McClellan was the president’s belated admission that he
had green-lighted the selective leaking of classified informa-
tion, after McClellan had been assured Bush had not done so.
Once a reliable agent of opacity for the administration, Mc-
Clellan was transformed by the president’s revelation. When
he published his 2008 confessional What Happened: Inside the
Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, some
former Republican colleagues acted as if McClellan had lost
his senses. But the former press liaison behaved as one would
expect of a person who felt he had been betrayed by those he
On Becoming a Leader