How Transparent Are You?

How transparent are you?

As a photographer, there are tools which allow me to change the transparency of an image on a scale that ranges from zero to 100 per cent.

There are certain things I think a leader should be 100% transparent about.

Like vision.

Budgets.

Salaries.

Promotions.

Projects being considered and projects in the works.

Every time I witness leaders discussing budgets, salaries, promotions and projects in the works, my social sensibilities are always heightened when there is a lack of transparency. Like the tiny budget presentation which no one could read. The projects which were quietly started and wouldn’t be made public until they were done. Salaries and promotions which were silently given.

I always wondered what those leaders were hiding. Or what they were afraid of.

Clearly it was something.

Maybe it was their accountability.

And every time this happened I felt the trust in the room dissipate quickly.

While an organization may not have enough trust to be fully transparent, you can gain trust by being more transparent about the things that matter.

That to me is leadership in black and white.

Photo: Tammy Brimner/TLBVelo Photography