In Buddhism, there is mention of people who are able to manifest ‘the authentic self’.

When you meet these people, you instantly feel connected. You feel like they are truly listening to you and that there is some kind of energy about them that breathes a bit more into your encounter with them. Not to get all mystical on you dear blog reader – but I had this kind of flash today when I was listening to a podcast. I felt like I was as much of the podcaster’s story as the energy behind the tales had me completely riveted.

I’m thankful that in this day and age, more that ever, we have the ability to be exposed for more ideas and more authentic selves.

Why the mention of this transparency? I just finished reading a blog post from FreshNetworks blog about Virgin Atlantic firing 13 staff members for discussions around safety standards and “generally bringing the company into disrepute” and was quite amazed that companies are engaging in this kind of behaviour in this digital age. Rather than be proactive and work to address the concerns of their staff and remedy the situation, Virgin Atlantic chose to shut them down and close the conversation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Facebook was the best channel for this conversation to happen but I am concerned that there aren’t enough vehicles for submitting employee feedback to companies without fear of reprimand.

I had been fortunate to hear the former Head of Innovation and Process Design at the Royal Bank, Dr Anita Sands speak about the initiatives to bring transparency and feedback to their organization. This gives me hope that there are organizations that are understanding that conversations don’t end when someone says something we don’t want to hear. This is where they begin.

If anyone knows of other companies which are tuned in and transparent, please share them with me in the comments section.