Transparency

Transparency in a company is one of those concepts that sounds excellent in theory but is extremely difficult to follow in practice for CEOs. Here we discuss why and how of this delicate topic – transparency in an organization.

 

Articles

CEOs Should Tell It Like It Is by Ben Horowitz

As CEOs, we sometimes treat our employees as our kids and shield them from the “bad” news. Ben writes that this is not a good idea – it not only breaks the trust but also prevents other minds from working on the problem. Be more transparent to create a healthy culture.

Lies that Losers Tell by Ben Horowitz

Entrepreneurs are optimistic beings. And sometimes, they take it too far and see only positivity even when things are falling apart. Ben advises not to lie to yourself, it is not going to end well!

How Open Should a Startup CEO be with Staff? by Mark Suster

How transparent should you be as a leader? by Claire Lew

Claire mentions two important concepts:

1. Transparency requires context. Transparency is not just about sharing the news or the numbers, but the nuances around those, making everybody understand the situation in a better way.
2. Transparency is a spectrum. It is subjective, and as a leader, you have to determine how much is transparency is appropriate and helpful for your employees and what level makes it a distraction or a burden.

How to Tell the Truth by Ben Horowitz

If as the CEO, you must be transparent to your employees and tell the situation as is, how can you do that without creating the chaos?

One way to do that is to “assign meaning to it”. You have to clearly explain to people 1. what happened 2. why it happened 3. why it is important to take the action you are about to take. This will not only help people wrap their head around it, but would also go a long way in building a culture of transparency in your company.

5 tips for building transparency into your company culture at Mashable

This article lists a few tools and techniques you can use to build transparency in your company.

3 examples of startups practising “Radical Transparency”

In Radical Transparency, Dharmesh Shah talks how HubSpot has benefited from practising “extreme transparency”.

Read Introducing Open Salaries at Buffer: Our Transparent Formula and All Individual Salaries to know why Buffer values “Default to Transparency”.

In Why Transparency is NOT the Key to Content Marketing Success, Alex Turnbull explains the right way to practice transparency.

 

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