How do you translate a lofty concept — like “transparency” — into real, tangible change in your team?
A tricky question, I know… But your success as a founder / leader / manager depends heavily on this very skill. Because your job is not to count people’s working hours, grant their vacation requests, or put their coffee cups in the dishwasher.
Your job is to improve the organization. And if you can really bring something like “transparency” alive in your team, you’ve hit a home run.
Imagine you’re sitting across from your doctor. She’s known for her transparency, so she has laid out all the results from your most recent test. But just as she’s finished arranging all the papers in front of you, she’s called to an emergency and has to leave you sitting there… overwhelmed and worried!
This is an important reminder for founders and leaders: something that's usually very beneficial — transparency in this case — can backfire terribly if it’s done wrong!
Uncertainty is a major source of stress for people. Which shouldn’t surprise us: if we don’t know what’s coming, our biology makes us careful and vigilant, not willing to take risks.
A team in such a state is doomed...
