I recall a time during my nonprofit leadership experience during which I was wildly irritated every time someone complained about “lack of transparency.” Defensiveness would kick in and I’d immediately have thoughts along these lines:
- “Not everyone can be privy to every decision. That’s not the way work works.”
- “You say you want transparency, but when we share updates, no one asks questions or takes the time to read what we send.”
- “What you really mean is ‘I want to know what I want to know and I don’t care to know anything else.’”
Now, all of these things might be true, AND… I have an evolving hypothesis. I think it’s possible that naming “lack of transparency” is a symptom of something else related to overall poor organizational culture, and not an actual lack of transparency. Here are some things that I think might be missing if transparency is being made the scapegoat:
Mission/Vision
When a group of people are working together, they need to be clear on their purpose and what they are trying to accomplish. A clear mission and vision should be the anchor to all decisions made
Clear Communication
Now, communication doesn’t mean “communicate everything” to resolve the “lack of transparency” issue. But generally when there is a clear a simple communication strategy in an organization, there is less angst about decisions being made and whether “secret things are happening behind closed doors.”
Trust
Similarly to communication, trust is an underlying condition that removes doubt and worry in an organization. When trust exists in an organization, it doesn’t just mean that people do what they say they are going to do (which is, of course, a critical element). It also means that people at all levels of the organization, including and most importantly, those in leadership positions take accountability, own their mistakes, and will do what is needed to rectify them.
I have a client who has named that there is a lack of transparency in her job right now. She has been repeatedly surprised with staffing decisions and policy changes that appear completely unaligned with her understanding of the values and mission of the department. She has been a part of the department for a long time – almost 20 years – and she is confused by the decisions that have been made by leadership. Her commitment to the organization runs deep, so she has tried to provide constructive feedback and has been met with defensives. I would argue that if the department had a clearly articulated mission and vision (and the decisions made aligned to them), there was a regular and effective communication structure, and there was a strong culture of trust, there would be no need for “transparency.”
When I think back to the times I was annoyed by the complaints around transparency, I now think these three things were lacking. What do you think? Have I oversimplified this? When you are seeking “transparency” what does that mean to you?
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