Did you ever have that dream as a kid where you were presenting a paper in front of the class and you look down and realize you forgot to get dressed that morning? It's a common human fear... And yet, the new digital world we live in encourages this "naked" approach to life.
Wired Magazine ran an article a few years ago called, "The See-Through CEO" documenting the trend of CEO's blogging honestly about their company's challenges and shortcomings. Jonathan Acuff took a lot of heat for his article on CNN.com called "Why Christians are Jerks Online" for exposing an insiders view to a secular audience. Business books like the Naked Corporation, Naked Conversations, and the Naked Presenter all embrace a culture of radical transparency in order to acheive connection.
Yet when faced with this requirement for authenticity in our blogging, website-building, and social media efforts, many of us miss the mark. Either teams have too many layers of reviews/revisions so that the end result of the content is watered down, or we have people producing content who aren't close enough to the heart of the organization to actually present an accurate reflection.
Almost twelve years ago, I had lunch with a pastor of a large church and noticed he was wearing makeup. While it took me by surprise, it made sense. He was a pastor with a television show. Faces look more appealing on camera when made up. (I should probably add that I'm thrilled the photographer who did my headshots airbrushed me.) That expereince was back when the rules for engagement were defined by the broadcast world. Digital culture rejects this tendency toward polish. It prefers untucked shirts, 'messy' hair, and grunged out graphics. It likes to read writing with coloquialisms--more like we speak than a book to be published.
To achieve the type of transparency the digital world requires for connection takes a commitment from the organization's leadership to add their voice--their unpolished and authentic voice. It requires a clear sense of the team in knowing the identity to which they belong. Without a commitment by leadership and a clear sense of belonging by the team, communication can't help but be fragmented and schizophrenic creating a sense of inauthenticity.
Whether online or face-to-face, it takes courage to let people see the real you. As it turns out, it is the best connection strategy you could possibly engage.
