Ah, the domain of the sacrosanct, because it is OUR private life! Nothing to do with the entities we happen to helm, because it is OUR private life! In this world, where the levels of fairness and justice can truly be said to be remarkable, NO ONE is entitled to have a private life. Only US! Everyone else’s private life is fair game.

I’ve written about some insights I had about the JOHARI window before, and I remain convinced that, the more transparent a leader’s life is, the more that leader can be trusted. When I see the brouhaha over Brendan Eich and Mozilla, I can only come to one conclusion. Mozilla lost. Somehow, it is ok for people to promote promiscuity and indulgence in homosexual activities, but it is not ok for people to take a stand otherwise. And we call this free speech. We call this freedom. Of course it is, but only for the loud minority. We are at liberty to have our opinions and our convictions. As long as it is in alignment with theirs.

So, leaders, are your private lives transparent? Do you dare to declare what you stand for, even as you yourself struggle to live up to what you proclaim? Or do you slink away with your tail between your legs at the slightest yelp that’s thrown your way?

Sort your private lives out. Your private life ought to be a solid core that supports your public life. The enterprise, and I do mean enterprise, private, public or government, stand to accrue much from it.