Transparent Leadership

Transparent leadership is terminology tossed around readily among today’s top leaders.

When leaders demonstrate behavior that is open and candid then they become predictable and trusted by followers. On the contrary, when leaders fail to be forthcoming then a lack of trust permeates within any organization.

Why wouldn’t more organizations or leaders commit themselves to truly transparent behaviors? Maybe they are not aware of what it takes? Here are a few insights to consider.

Transparent leaders exude common behavior because are definitive in their vision and objectives. They are focused upon a specific action and milestones to accomplish by a specific date. In turn, they engage their followers accordingly to make every effort a victory for the entire team.

In addition, there is no hidden agenda in the intent or meaning with transparent leaders. Often their messages are direct and clear with specific tasks and priorities. With this style and commitment, subordinates learn to trust a transparent leader because there is no sneak attack, unannounced surprise, or mystery stew of the day.

How compelling would it be if more leaders learned to foster this kind of trust within their organizations? What would our world look like if there were more transparent leaders than those who purport to be as such? How much would organizations and governance systems achieve without these distractions?

Dawn McCoy, author of Leadership Building Blocks: An Insider’s Guide to Success

One thought on “Transparent Leadership

  1. Tom Smith says:

    @Dawn — great topic.

    I encourage everyone in the age of social media to:
    – Be relevant
    – Be reliable
    – Be responsive
    – Be real
    – Or, be gone

    I think this is more even important for leaders because the more they model this behavior, the more they are empowering their employees.

    If anyone is not willing to do this, I wonder what they have to hide? They certainly do not engender trust nor would you want to “follow” a leader that doesn’t model this behavior.

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