Transparency Sometimes
Transparency is often touted in organizations as a way to increase buy-in, collaboration, and a sense of ownership. I am not speaking here of salary transparency, but the preference for informing staff of the trends and plans in the organization, and at times, self-disclosure as to feelings and motivations. At its best, transparency fosters fluid communication, a sense of purpose, and it can be an antidote to the pitfalls of rigid autocratic models.
Unfortunately, there’s a shadow side to every paradigm shift. Transparency can also muddy organizational focus, create anxiety and uncertainty for staff, and can damage the beneficial aspects of the chain of command. Above all, when misused it magnifies but does not fix toxic work environments.
Recently I communicated with a manager at a mid-size company that illustrates these issues. This company created a culture they thought highlighted transparency. Staff and leadership were encouraged to share their new directions, progress, motivations and frustrations openly. On paper this made sense. In practice, leadership regularly changed their minds on priorities and immediately voiced these new goals—and managers would then be given new marching orders while already buried knee deep in previously assigned projects. This created chaos and much frustration. In addition, staff were encouraged to share their frustrations with leadership, often bypassing their own manager. This undercut the status and role of managers, further creating a sense of abandonment for mid and senior level supervisors. As you can see, transparency was not the only problem in this company. And that’s my point. Transparency works best in higher functioning companies, and is potentially damaging in ones lacking a sense of direction and a culture of respect.
I believe that certain questions need to be asked and answered by leadership, management and staff in order to insure that transparency is actually appropriate and happening.
1. Am I sharing information that promotes inclusion and a sense of agency? (Or am I sharing information that could disempower employees?)
2. Am I sharing information that this person needs to know to do their specific job at this time? (Or am I sharing unnecessary info that they can’t do anything about and increases a sense of helplessness?)
3. After I share information, am I sticking around to help them react to, process, and integrate it? (Or, am I essentially dropping bombs and then fleeing the scene?)
One needs to get an affirmative answer to those three questions, to ensure that good will and safety are guiding the transparency process. Ultimately, transparency can democratize organizations, or it can perpetuate dysfunction. Not all information needs to be compulsively shared and transparency is not always the best choice to insure that employees are empowered and successful.
