#A word for not transparent how to#

But team building through transparency takes shape when the leader of a team can openly discuss what he believes are the strengths and weaknesses of the team. Transparency is a powerful unifier – as was the case in the aforementioned example, it forces a team to work smarter together.

#A word for not transparent how to#

We did and my boss learned a valuable lesson about how to solve problems by being transparent about them. In other words, my boss’ senior team would be more effective at designing a strategy to exceed performance requirements – rather than cutting a budget. I would rather not scare anyone.” I responded by recommending that if he openly shares his concerns with our team and that if someone was not able to handle the truth – then we would discover another problem. After confronting my boss, he told me – “Glenn, I am being told that I must achieve a specific bottom line performance this year and if I don’t, I am going to have to cut staff. When we submitted the revised plan, we were told to give it another pass – multiple times over. For example, I can remember when my former boss would challenge us to reduce the budget every quarter. Here are five powerful things that happen when a leader can be transparent:Įmployees learn more about one another and can grow to work toward solving problems faster when their leaders are transparent. This will not only build trust, but more importantly set-forth a precedent that will transcend through team(s), and establish a new type of loyalty and attitude that will ripple throughout the organization. As mentioned in my American Dream blog – people want leaders who can deliver balance between knowledge (the head) and wisdom (the heart).įor leaders in the workplace, this means it’s time to be transparent by communicating less over email and through third-party communication – and become more personally engaged with their employees via face-to-face and/or video interaction and with greater frequency. People want to evaluate whether someone is acting or being genuine. They want access to one’s facial expressions, eye contact and body language. There is a reason people would rather “see” a video blog than “read” a blog. This need for transparency in society is at an all-time high. We are all living during a time when people want and expect their leaders to be more human, less perfect and at times a bit vulnerable – regardless of hierarchy or rank. The digital age has changed the levels of transparency that we expect from people too. As such, social media has suddenly given people the permission to enter a leader’s personal space a place they were previously prohibited from entering. The digital age has allowed people to learn more about their leaders. People want to know that their leaders have experienced the same problems and/or how they have overcome personal hardships. This is the problem with most leaders, they are not aware of the reality that exists around them. The reason most leaders are not transparent is because they believe they will be viewed as less authoritative that the credentials they worked so hard to attain will lose their power, leverage and gravitas.

Just think of how many careers would have been salvaged and discovered if transparency had been part of the corporate culture equation.īeing transparent is a powerful thing, if you can trust yourself and be trusted by others.

As such, companies will lose top-talent if they are not mindful of their employees’ needs – and concurrently pay a heavy price to replace them and rebuild the momentum that was left behind. Most people now realize they need to look out for themselves if their employers are unwilling to do so. The days of utopia are over in the traditional workplace.

In other words, they just want transparency so they can plan and protect themselves. They desire their leaders to be proactive in sharing where the company is headed and forthright about its future. If you survey the workplace, besides the need for job security and career advancement opportunities – employees want to be a part of a workplace culture that puts a premium on delivering the truth. People have grown tired of surprises and want to exist in a work environment that allows one to have greater clarity of thought – by eliminating the unknowns that continue to creep into our minds with each decision we make or relationship we foster. Trust and transparency have become popular workplace demands as employees seek to be aware of what is real and true.