Does Hyper-Politics Limit Freedom of Speech, Knowledge Sharing, and National Development? (Virtual and Physical)

Freedom of speech is one of the most important values our country can have. It is also one of those values that produces the most benefit for society. Whether we are discussing public issues that impact a country or we are discussing issues as they relate to workplace (cross functional teams) we find that knowledge sharing makes a big difference in outcomes. 

Freedom of speech is knowledge and idea sharing. It is a process of where people are given the right to express their ideas and opinions without retribution and silencing (intentional or not). 

If you sit in a board room and/or meeting room you will become increasingly aware if you pay attention to the body language and cues that some are given a bigger microphone than others. Its natural in social setting for some to lead and some to follow. 

It is also natural that some have more knowledge and intelligence than others and some struggle to keep up with the pace of conversation. What we do find is that healthy teams are open to members contributing knowledge and should not be limited by specific requirements to come to pre-existing solutions. 

For example a study of  103 cross functional team respondents using mediation regression analysis and structural equation modeling techniques found the following (Knuckes, 2021):

Cross Functional virtual team environment, social trust predicts knowledge sharing when mediated by intention to share knowledge. 

What the study is saying is that when teams (virtual and likely applies to non-virtual) want to accomplish goals through new ideas they will need to create social trust to encourage knowledge sharing (As manages we may need to create the right environment and team loyalty.)You can read more about the study HERE. 

Those societies that are open to new ideas will advance and develop while those that suppress new ideas through rigid social structures (i.e. China single party or U.S. hyper politics) will eventually start to decline as people come to realize that only certain voices, ideas, and people are capable of coming up with good ideas (Societies with elites wealthy "connected" and non-elites poor and "disconnected"). Think of who/whom in society has the largest microphones and whether or not they are qualified to really give advice to the rest of the country and party followers (This isn't for/against any particular party or person. Its just a point to be made about logical inconsistencies in some arguments promoted and how people accept arguments without sufficient critical thinking. One possible theoretical explanation is we can see similar alpha behaviors and compliance in food choice among vervet monkeys through the  neuroanatomical similarities of evolution.).

For example, an idea that adjusts an innovative process could expand R&D budget outcomes by 1.5X. That might result in first in advantages and market leading products/services which raise revenue and put a 2nd place company (or soon to be) onto the top of the market with significant market advantages. If that idea wasn't shared the company might continue to loose its market share (See Swotch Strategy). 

This is why the U.S. has been so successful for so long. It had an ideal that it strove for and it drew in as many people as it possibly could. While it wasn't perfect (Yes we do still have problems to work on.) it does seek to improve with each generation. However, hyper politics forces people to rigidly adhere to one opinion or another opinion and that leads to the stifling of innovation and development (Look back over the past two decades and see how it might be possible that the rise of hyper politics also means limiting ideas and growth and development).

Knuckels, L. (2021).Effects of Social Trust on Knowledge Sharing, Loyalty, and Effectiveness in Cross Functional Virtual Teams. Trident University International, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2021. 28417632