By Steve Adubato, PhD

After September 11 you would have thought that the federal agencies involved in anti-terrorism efforts would have joined together and started communicating like they were on the same team. But old habits die hard, and whether it's the Federal Government trying to bring agencies together or a corporation trying to get competing departments to stop feuding - achieving honest communication is hard. Some of the barriers to real communication within and between organizations involve such things as; bad history, unhealthy competition, fear, distrust and just plain laziness.

While there's a lot of talk about anti-terrorism, there is also a long tradition of organizations like the FBI, CIA, FAA, and INS hoarding information and building barriers. They communicate with each other, but often not by choice and not in a timely and collegial fashion. The creation of a new super-organization in no way guarantees that the players involved in anti-terrorism efforts will all of a sudden start communicating and stop protecting their turf. This is not a commentary about terrorism or even the Federal Government, but rather, it's about how insulated we can all become in our own organizations and how this effects our communication with others.

You see, when you're really on the same team, you're not afraid to share crucial information and communicate openly. Well, the FBI had lots of valuable information in their field offices in Phoenix, Minneapolis and Oklahoma regarding possible warning signs before September 11. However, that information never found its way into the hands of key decision makers at the Bureau. Further, that information wasn't shared with the CIA and other federal agencies dealing with terrorism. Fact is, even when there is a clear goal like fighting terrorism, it doesn't guarantee that those involved will communicate in a collegial fashion. According to a congressional investigator, there is a "longstanding historical problem" at the FBI in which "special agents in charge of field offices are like princes with their own little princedoms and the director is like the king who doesn't necessarily have the power to reign them in."

Whether you're a king, a CEO, the head of the FBI or the President, you can't force people to communicate and act as if they're really on the same team. Productive, honest communication only comes when the individuals involved believe that their collective destiny is tied to other team members. That's not what's happening in Washington now. Those involved in the anti-terrorism effort aren't convinced that they really need each other. They are not convinced that they will be rewarded for sharing and penalized if they don't. Unless they are convinced, they won't share and they won't really communicate. They will continue to protect their turf as well as their hides. They will only share information when forced to and communication will continue to be guarded and less than candid. No super-agency, no matter how big and no matter who wants it, is going to change that. None of this can be good, especially when the stakes are so high for all of us.

Consider this question…How open is your communication with your professional colleagues? Do you share valuable information or do you sometimes hold back? If so, write and tell me why.