Being Real and Transparent

The Essential Intangibles Part 5

Images are edited to ensure no flaws are seen. Ads are created to lure customers into a false sense of security. Simple truth is manipulated. Proper clarity becomes blurred. Fake futures are foretold. Reality characters are cast, story lines pre-programmed, and then it all gets televised.

Fake seems to be in these days. Apparently you can make a lot of money selling phony.

But when it comes to leading, something more intangible is desired. People smell phony from a mile away. They know when you aren’t being real with them. But when you are real with people—when you’re transparent—they connect with your leadership at amazing levels.

This is part 5 of the series “The Essential Intangibles,” the little things that can make or break a leader. These intangibles are essential, but thankfully, they can be learned by anyone.

The Essential Intangibles - Table of Contents

When you are transparent with people

There are several different kinds of transparency as a leader. It may take the form of a general allusion to your weaknesses. You may share one particular struggle you’re having with getting something done. You may share how you’ve had problems in the past doing what your team needs to do in the present and really need others to help make it happen. Whatever the case, sharing something transparent enables you to gain people’s real trust.

Transparent is an appropriate word for this, since it means “seeing through” to something behind it. Instead of building a wall between yourself and others you allow them to see the real you. When a leader opens up a lot of barriers in the team go down—everyone feels less uptight and more real with their status. Instead of faking their way through a project everyone gains what Good to Great author Jim Collins calls the “brutal facts of an organization.”

When you aren’t transparent with people

When you are not transparent with people those brutal facts eventually hunt you down and make you fail. A culture of secrecy and confidence is built by a lack of transparency. You are covering your own tail instead of looking to the good of the organization. Instead of alerting others to potential problems in your own area you first just ignore them, then hope no one notices them, then begin hiding them, and even going so far as to point out the problems in others so your own weaknesses aren’t noticed. This may be an easy win in the short run—others think you’ve got it together and don’t have problems in your area. But in the long run this just weakens the whole organization and it’s only a matter of time before everyone figures out your sham.

Leaders who are never transparent, who act like they have it all together at all times, are eventually un-trusted and not followed. No one is perfect all the time, and if you act like you are then the assumption eventually will be that you have a whole lot to hide. That assumption is probably correct.

How to become transparent

It starts with your peers. It can be hard to be fully transparent with those above you or who work for you in an organization. But if you can become transparent with those at a peer level it opens the door to becoming a more transparent leader. Chances are that your peers have similar frustrations or the same problems you have. Perhaps they’ll have solutions—or tips on how to work around your weaknesses. Other times they help you realize such problems are just part of the way things operate, so you’ll feel less threatened by them and defensive about sharing them with others. Be sure to make these times of transparency helpful and not just a gripe-fest about your work.

Then you can begin work on being transparent with those who work under you on the team. Let them know that you’re not all you sometimes seem to be. Help them see your weaknesses and coach them to fill those gaps. Stop being the “all-star leader” and start being the coach of the team that gets each of them in the game. The fact that you can’t make some of the plays they can just makes you a better leader if you can get them to actually do it.

Finally, work on being more transparent with those above you in an organization. This may seem risky at first, especially if your leader doesn’t cultivate an environment of openness. However, it pays off when your leader knows you’re a “straight shooter.” Try not to be defensive in these situations, and never list off problems others are having along with your own problems.

One of the best tactics in doing this is to go to your leader for advice. Transparently share where things aren’t as you hoped them to be, then ask him or her what advice they’d have to address it. This enlists your leader’s help in tackling the problem, or perhaps they will even dismiss it as not that big of a deal and not worth your time to worry about. After these three steps are taken (transparency with peers first, subordinates second, and superiors third) you’ll find yourself becoming comfortable enough to be transparent in meetings and even when speaking in front of crowds.

How to spot & reward someone who is transparent with the team

Spotting someone transparent isn’t that hard. They are the ones that are actually giving you the brutal facts about themselves and their area. They’re not protective of their turf but instead just tell you what’s up and how something isn’t going as well as they hoped. Here are some tips on reacting to this great development in your team:

1. Mirror Transparency – share how you yourself have had such problems. Share how those kind of things happen. Let them know a current problem you have that’s troubling you as well. Let them know this behavior isn’t going to be punished but is a part of the expected team culture of transparency. 

2. Multiply Transparency – if the moment of transparency happens in a team or meeting setting then harness it for a team dynamic of transparency. Mirror it yourself first, then ask others something like, “Well, team, is anyone else having similar difficulties or having other troubles we ought to be aware of and can help with?” 

3. Manage Transparency – whatever the problem is, work with them in the long run to manage around the problem or to solve it. Don’t just create a culture of openness that doesn’t actually address problems and merely complains about them… actually solve the problems with them, or give advice on how to and check back to see progress. 

Remember that this intangible doesn’t show up on a resume at all. In fact, many people with amazing resumes are actually the worst at being transparent. They may be in the habit of trying to look good and they spend their years on the job just trying to live up to their fabricated reputation.

Early in my leadership life I got to work on a team that began asking people about seasons of failure and brokenness during the interview process. This helped us make clear that we actually value that experience and how people process it afterwards. Those kind of steps help breed a culture of transparency from the beginning of a hire.