Americans understand information sharing as creating and maintaining relationships. Sharing builds trust, closeness, and connection; withholding creates distance and suspicion. When someone shares information with you, they are extending trust and including you.
When someone withholds information, they are creating distance. This relational understanding applies across all relationship types—family, professional, social. Americans evaluate relationship quality partly by how openly people communicate.
The relationship where nothing is shared barely qualifies as relationship; the relationship characterized by open sharing is healthy and close. When working with Americans, recognize that your information sharing behavior communicates about the relationship itself. Sharing signals inclusion and trust. Withholding—even when unintentional—signals exclusion or distrust and may damage the relationship.
Comments