Full Transparency

Can we be honest on 100% of things 100% of the time?  Absolutely not.  To be that honest all the time would be irresponsible; that kind of honesty has no filter, nor does it give you time to look at both sides.  Speaking like that to ANYONE - a stranger, a colleague, a loved one - would result not just in hurt feelings, but in people not wanting to be around you, worried you may open your mouth and say something horrible.  

I am not speaking about blunt honesty (which in most cases, is JUST someone else’s opinion about a situation or a person.  Let’s make that clear that honesty does not translate into fact).  

Transparency, however, is something else altogether.  A Forbes article from 2019 defines it as “...the process of being open, honest, and  straightforward about various company operations.”

Being transparent is being open about the problems as much as being open about the wins.  If something is working, you communicate it.  If something is not working, you communicate that as well.

That was not always the case.  Businesses would tend to identify a problem, hiding it immediately; covering it in bubble wrap and throwing it down into the basement never  to be seen again.  And that would work until it didn’t.  

Now more than ever, social media, the speed of information, and the ability to communicate all in our back pocket means problems never go away forever.  Just like Poe’s, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, something buried is never just forgotten.  

Being transparent in business means that you communicate the good with the bad.  Care about this not because you could be “found out” if you try to hide something - that’s fear based.  Care about this because the long game is always more important than the short game.  

Working in transparency establishes trust with your internal team and external clients.  It builds relationships where you will have more freedom to work through both challenges and opportunities.  Problems will become easier because solutions become easier to accept - no one is second guessing your agenda or looking for loopholes.  There is no man behind the curtain.

And trust that the relationships you build and continue to build will continue to want to work with you no matter what company you move to or enterprise you start.  And that is worth millions of dollars to a business.

Don’t hide problems.

Be honest (to a point - no one needs to know every single dirty detail).  

Be communicative.

Come with solutions.

Have empathy for yourself and your clients - no one likes problems but that’s life.  Problems are part of it.  

And PLEASE - have fun while you’re doing it - the larger your role at a company, the larger your responsibility.  Problems will come at you from all directions - they’re supposed to!  That’s why you are in that role.  Remember to laugh.  Remember that sometimes a problem will lead to a solution that takes you down a entirely new path you would have never  embarked on - that is BETTER - than the  path you were on.    

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikekappel/2019/04/03/transparency-in-business-5-ways-to-build-trust/?sh=fce500761490