I started my initial business, social media training, in 2010 because the inevitable culture change resonated with me. We were in a period where accountability had well and truly fallen off the agenda and I saw that social media would be a force to drive transparency and accountability.
We have seen massive changes since then, changes so fast that it can be hard for people to keep up. But the recurring theme has been the exposure of bad behaviour by those who thought they were above accountability.
But this tsunami of change over the last two weeks has highlighted more than ever that the UK population demand a more transparent and honest leadership.
We have of course just made a huge decision in the UK regarding our future in the EU. However for so many people there was then an awful realisation that that decision was based on poor and inaccurate information.
When being asked to vote for such a massive economic issue voters need to be able to make decisions based on facts. They believed that what they were given was lies, lies and more lies.
Of course no one could actually know the future despite, claims by some that they could. But we should be able to expect that the information we are presented with is well thought out by people that know what they are talking about. Not spin and point scoring. The reality is we have reached a state where we have so little respect for our politicians we now assume their information is just fear mongering.
And yesterday the Chilcot report was finally published – after 13 years of waiting. And now we know.
We can no longer run a country, or our organisations, based on half truths. People want to know the back story of our businesses and charities and leaders.
We need to be upfront and honest, even when, and especially when, that is uncomfortable. Because actually we CAN handle the truth. It enables us to make fully informed choices.
People inevitably feel cheated when they are lied to, whether that is buying a product, or a government. And that can never end well.