#davesdailychallenge (43): Anonymity is the Easy Way Out. The ease at which any person can lend their voice to the discussions of the world without any connection to the real world impact of their involvement is one of the most poisonous trends in our world today. Outside of a few rare situations, anonymity is not the path towards a respectful and mutually beneficial discourse. When people know that their name and brand is associated with what they choose to put out into the world they will automatically learn some valuable lessons. Do you have something to say that could be considered rude or cruel? If you aren’t anonymous you’ll automatically learn that there is a right way and a wrong way to communicate to others and you’ll learn the repercussions of ignoring this aspect of human nature. Encouraging ownership over the messages that an individual communicates is a difficult, long-term, but entirely worthwhile pursuit within any organization. Over time it will breed respect, trust, and authenticity. If you are thinking that an absence of anonymity would not allow people to be their “true selves” and would only encourage status quo behavior I think you’re not giving people enough credit. If it takes being anonymous for someone to be honest then that person needs to examine their own motives and practice being authentic in a more constructive way. This is of course an ideal to pursue and perhaps most teams or most people won’t ever reach that goal. It is still worth pursuing.