For "Open government," tenets of participation, transparency, collaboration

 
The article below, on the requisites for "open government," carries as much relevance for the workings of Bahá'í Institutions as it does for secular government. Shoghi Effendi has stated:

[The elected representatives - members of National and Local Spiritual Assemblies] should approach their task with extreme humility, and endeavor, by their open-mindedness, their high sense of justice and duty, their candor, their modesty, their entire devotion to the welfare and interests of the friends, the Cause, and humanity, to win, not only the confidence and the genuine support and respect of those whom they serve, but also their esteem and real affection. They must, at all times, avoid the spirit of exclusiveness, the atmosphere of secrecy, free themselves from a domineering attitude, and banish all forms of prejudice and passion from their deliberations. They should, within the limits of wise discretion, take the friends into their confidence, acquaint them with their plans, share with them their problems and anxieties, and seek their advice and counsel.

- Bahá'í Administration 64

Culture of Yes

By Jessy

Washington, DC’s recently released open government directive has a lot of us...stoked about the mandate we are...being given...to make government more transparent and accessible.

The three tenets of participation, transparency, and collaboration are particularly relevant because,...if you look closely, they are focused on process– as much as, if not more than, on outcome. This reflects the fact that open government is not somewhere we arrive or something we check off on a task list, but it’s about how we go about the business of governing ourselves.

When I say we, I don’t mean “we” the people who work for government– I mean all of us. “We” as a residents of the United States, and citizens of the world. For me, open government encourages us to think of the government not [as] an entity separate from the “us” or the “we.” If you work for the government, that doesn’t mean you are not also a recipient of its services, its policies, or its limitations....

[W]e had several meetings discussing how to create an environment where new ideas are valued and encouraged. We identified, with center leadership, that the current culture is often a “Culture of No”. The safe answer, the one least likely to get you in trouble, is to say “No”. Saying yes is associated with more work, and with risk. Since the Culture of No exists all the way up the management chain, that work burden and risk are personal ones, ones that involve putting yourself on the line. It’s clear why people are dis-inclined to do so....

Yes, We Can!

We decided to propagate a new saying: “Culture of Yes”. We wanted to cultivate an environment where people’s answer to new or crazy ideas was “Yes,” or maybe even “Yes, but…”. But not “No” or “No, and…”. One where you are actually rewarded for those ideas, and where it is, eventually, procedurally more expensive to say “No.”

Source: http://blog.quaternio.net/2010/01/06/culture-of-yes/