Credibility Through Responsible Transparency

When transparency is employed without a keen understanding of the potential effects of revealed information, it can be unfair and irresponsible both to the organization and to its individual members. Leaders have to have a firm finger on the pulse of their organization and its culture, knowing people’s capacity to absorb information and anticipating how it might be interpreted and used. It is in part an artful use of intuition. Yet there are practical guidelines that can help leaders wrestle with decisions around transparency.

Both transparency and credibility imply a relationship of two or more people. A person cannot be transparent unless he or she has someone to be transparent to. Similarly, a person’s level of credibility is based on the perception of another person—whether you think you are credible ultimately says little about your reputation, since your reputation is determined by what others think of you. Both transparency and credibility are demonstrated through actions.

This is good news for the leader trying to master transparency while building credibility because both can be achieved through specific behaviors. By adhering to the following nine behaviors, a leader fulfills the expectations of credibility, and these behaviors are prescriptions that should play an important role in determining how to be transparent.

Being Overwhelmingly Honest

While truth telling in organizations can be complicated and messy, honesty must be an unbroken guiding principle, the hub on the leadership wheel. And it must be visibly demonstrated through actions and decisions, or trust and credibility will not exist. When transparent leaders decide not to share certain information with their followers—perhaps because they do not yet have all the pieces or because, for whatever reason, they are unable to tell—the unbreakable principle of honesty requires them to say so: “I can’t tell you that right now, but here’s what I can say.” Overwhelming honesty should be delivered with respect and concern for others. Followers should not be left to wonder about hidden agendas. When leaders drive this core value down through their team, not only is trust built, but another fantastic result also can occur—followers become tolerant of not having all the facts.

Gathering Intelligence

Asking others for their opinions about something conveys respect and shows others that you value them. It also promotes transparency as a reciprocal agreement. When leaders ask for feedback about their own performance and discover how others perceive them, they are better able to align their intentions with reality and develop a plan for improvement. In order to learn and grow, we must have self-awareness, which, ironically, requires input from others.

Being Composed

Effective and admirable leadership requires composure. Challenges, stressors, and obstacles are inherent in any organization and in any leader’s path; how leaders conduct themselves during the good times and the bad can be indicative of their character, competence, and ultimately, their credibility. While the call for transparency that builds credibility urges leaders to reveal their true opinions and emotions regarding relevant business issues, it does not allow for leaders to irresponsibly let it all hang out. Followers expect their leaders to be composed. And they are always watching. Also, a certain level of predictability builds trust.

Letting Your Guard Down

Leaders who keep in mind the spirit of authenticity while working hard to create meaningful connections with their followers, demonstrating sincerity of being and revealing personal information that adds value to the context of work, will be practicing an important part of leadership transparency that builds credibility. Doing so, however, requires a certain level of maturity and self-awareness and a heightened sense of how people might perceive, dissect, and disseminate the information that you reveal. And because authenticity or personal transparency ultimately describes the quality of a relationship, leaders must create opportunities in which to engage with their followers, allowing the followers to know them.

Keeping Promises

When leaders match their words and actions and do what they say they will do, those leaders place a high value on their commitments. Promise keeping in leadership is not always clear-cut. Sometimes leaders are forced to reconsider promises and disappoint followers. Those are the times when transparency is particularly important because followers who understand the reasoning behind broken promises may be more accepting of the consequences.

Properly Handling Mistakes

How you handle mistakes actually may be more important than getting things right the first time. Even with its inherent risks—such as appearing weak, incompetent, or otherwise less than perfect—confessing mistakes signals courage, accountability, and humility. Indeed, mistakes are an opportunity to visibly demonstrate a commitment to honesty.

Delivering Bad News Well

Delivering bad news can be tricky business, yet doing it well is an essential part of leadership transparency that builds credibility. When sensitive, controversial, or potentially hurtful information is not delivered well, people can feel a sense of betrayal, anger, and indignation. Trust is destroyed and relationships suffer. For most leaders, delivering bad news is hard, and some even opt for silence. Those on the receiving end usually appreciate bad news that is delivered promptly and with honesty, directness, care, and concern.

Avoiding Destructive Comments

Leadership that builds and maintains credibility requires transparent communication that shows the highest respect for people. Language that divides or is otherwise destructive can undermine the whole reasoning behind leadership transparency—to improve relationships, increase trust, and build a credible reputation. Leaders must model and reward language that does not employ inappropriate blame or criticism, us-versus-them attitudes, or talking down.

Showing Others That You Care

In order for leaders to be successful at influencing and motivating people, their followers must have a solid answer to the question: Do you care about me? Leaders must visibly show their followers that, yes, they do care, and this is done by developing the followers, recognizing them, and seeking to know and understand them. While showing value for employees has lasting, bottom-line benefits in morale, quality, and productivity, a leader should not be motivated to demonstrate care and value for the organization’s benefit alone. Such a narrow view undermines the formula and ultimately devalues the individual players in an organization. True leadership is built on a kind of social contract that says, “Follow me, and I promise that I will help you succeed.” When this contract is not honored, the motivation behind a leader’s strategy of transparency is put into question, and followers are led to wonder about hidden agendas.

So how do these behaviors play out in the real world? Consider Brenda Rivers, CEO of Andavo Travel, a $70 million travel company based in Denver. Not long after Rivers purchased the company in 1991, when it was a $15 million leisure agency, the travel industry met serious challenges in commission cuts from airlines and the Internet, which allowed consumers to easily bypass travel agencies. Rivers and her 98 employees managed to reinvent their business model and continue growing while many agencies in the industry were staving off starvation. Then came September 11, 2001, and suddenly travel was the last thing on Americans’ minds. “Nothing could have prepared us for 9/11,” Rivers said. “It had a profound impact on us and shook the very foundation of our industry.”

Tens of thousands of people were laid off in the industry-—including employees from major airlines, call centers, and agencies—and Rivers also could have downsized her staff and maybe even dusted off her law degree, readying herself for better opportunities. Instead, no Andavo employees were laid off, and the year following 9/11 was the company’s best year ever in revenues and profit margins.

How did Andavo achieve such success in the face of a catalog of bumpy changes and a roiling marketplace? The answer is in part due to sound business strategy, because Andavo, as already mentioned, had prepared itself for industry shifts by changing from a traditional agency to an Internet based travel company that also offers traditional personalized service. However, another key element to Andavo’s success was Rivers, who captained her crew with a clear commitment to transparency, practiced in ways that only a credible leader would.