If you can’t see where you’re going, getting lost is easy. In previous blog posts, I’ve explored how the values of trust and respect, forming the basic building blocks of a successful organisation, can be cultivated. There is also a third key value that differentiates a successful company from an average one. How to be a transparent leader.
Trust, respect, and transparency form a triumvirate of core values essential for building successful teams. This post analyses why being a transparent leader is important and provides practical ways to improve transparency in your organisation.
The Link Between Trust and Transparency
Transparency, as a value, is about being open, honest, visible and accessible as a leader. When you have a transparent leader in a team or organisation, trust is automatic. There seems to be an undeniable relationship between transparency and trust.
The less trust and respect in your organization, the more transparency you need. The more transparency you have, the more people will trust and respect you.
Yet, often leaders remove themselves from the teams they lead, focusing on communicating with the executive team and customers, while neglecting the operational teams. The reasons for this separation are justified, and there are as many benefits as disadvantages. However, I believe that the most influential leaders are those who are visible and accessible.
A transparent leader is an inspirational leader.
A leader is like the brain of the organisation, being at the centre of strategy and decision-making. A well-functioning brain communicates with all parts of the body through a complex network of neurons and neurotransmitters. When there is a communication breakdown in the body, disease occurs.
Similarly, a well-functioning organisation has a leader who communicates well with all parts of the organisation. The messages are processed and sent to the intended recipients on time, who can then receive and act on them. Many organisations, including writing services, experience a breakdown in communication to some extent, and without being able to identify where this breakdown occurs, it’s hard to resolve it. Transparency is key.
How Do You Cultivate Transparency?
Transparency requires vulnerability and a critical examination of yourself as much as of the organisation you lead. Although the steps are relatively straightforward, practising them, however, requires a lot of courage.
Here’s what it takes to be a transparent leader:
1. Be honest
Being honest is easy when there is good news to share. The promotion, growth, and financial results following a successful year. Staying honest when the news is bad is not always so easy. No one likes being the messenger of bad news, but it is always better to know than to be kept in the dark.
A transparent leader values honesty above everything else. He practices compassion and empathy to soften the often hurtful truth, but never hides it from his people, no matter how hard it is to deliver.
As a leader, aspire to be honest in all cases. When, however, someone asks you a question you are not prepared to answer, honestly admit that you don’t feel comfortable with the answer. Don’t avoid the subject, and don’t ever lie about it or give half-truths intentionally.
2. Be open and accessible
Being a leader is hard, as it often involves a lot of criticism. It’s easier to avoid or ignore criticism than to listen to complaints and questions. Transparency means you open yourself up to criticism, making yourself vulnerable in favour of the needs of the people you serve.
It takes as much courage to hear how you have failed as a leader as it does to tell someone else bad news.
Always give people an opportunity to ask questions and be sure to listen carefully. By listening to the people, you earn their respect while providing an opportunity to mitigate a risk or solve a problem before it’s too late.
Establish a company-wide channel where employees can express their concerns or ask questions, and ensure that you read and respond in a positive, open, and timely manner.
3. Ask questions and show interest
The manager of the past was he who knew the most answers. The leaders of the future are those who ask the most powerful questions.
Your role as a leader is not to know all the answers, but to have access to all the resources that can provide the answers. The transparent leader engages with their people regularly and asks relevant and empowering questions.
Show interest by participating in Gemba walks, a concept from lean production where the management team actively observes how people perform their work and where it takes place. Show interest in the people, while gaining a better understanding of the difficulties on the floor.
4. Confront difficult situations
Most people avoid conflict more than anything else. Whenever there is the slightest risk of angering your superior or looking uninformed, most people will keep quiet or say they agree, even though they disagree wholeheartedly.
That means a lot of great ideas are lost, a lot of solutions are unharnessed, and a lot of unnecessary rework results from misunderstandings. Most of all, it means non-committed workers performing unnecessary tasks to keep the peace, often knowing that it’s not in the best interest of the company, but too scared to speak up.
We can learn from Mandela how to be more transparent and create a safe environment for employees to express their opinions, even if they conflict with our views.
Mandela has always been known to be a good listener, but when someone disagreed with him, he listened even more carefully. He used disagreement as a tool to gain a deeper understanding and awareness, realising that the opposing view might provide a broader perspective than he already had. He focused on looking for connections and learning, rather than being right.
There is no right or wrong. There is only more or less information available. A more transparent leader invites disagreement and conflict constructively, listening attentively to opposing perspectives.
5. Provide access to information
The benefits of making information available far outweigh the risks, even though there are indeed risks to consider before deciding whether information should be made readily available. The more information you have, the better decisions you can make. Being able to make better decisions, on the other hand, leads to less stress.
Another significant benefit of making information available is that it leads to higher accountability while being fairer. More information provided earlier also allows for earlier realignment and correction if required. That translates to cost and time savings in the long run.
Be a more transparent leader and have frequent communication sessions with the entire organisation, not only the executive team. Allow questions to be asked and provide answers to those questions.
Have a dedicated area available where people can access information, such as a wiki or shared repository. However, be sure to keep it simple. Maintain the contents, clean up any unused items, and regularly update them to keep them relevant.
Not finding the information that you need is as bad as not having it at all.
6. Involve people in decision-making
The last critical step to building a transparent organisation is also one of the most difficult: the question of whether to involve people in decision-making or not.
It has been proven in many studies that people involved in decision-making are more engaged and committed. Although it’s not always possible to involve everyone, good judgment is necessary; however, a transparent leader will always involve people in the decision-making process.
If it is not possible to have a personal discussion with everyone involved, provide a meaningful choice. Never dictate a single option, and don’t give some people options while excluding others. Be consistent and fair in how you make decisions, as well as the degree to which you involve people in the decision-making process.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why leaders separate themselves from their team members. Maybe you’re afraid you’ll be seen as less authoritative, or perhaps you’re scared of criticism. Maybe you are an introvert or don’t have enough time in the day.
Whatever the reasons, one of the key building blocks of functional and successful teams and organisations is the level of transparency within the organisation, and a transparent leader. Increasing transparency increases trust, resulting in a more productive workplace.
