On the Edge of Transparency
COVID-19 has forced leadership to increase communication with their teams and their external customers. Some companies are excelling with this increase of communication while others are uncovering issues as their communication increases - issues that have been lurking beneath the surface all this time.
What I am recognizing is the difference between the organizations who are excelling and those who are struggling ties deeply to transparency. When leaders communicate with transparency, they give the recipient the information they are looking for in an honest and courageous way. We want to illuminate ways you can increase the transparency you have with your people - regardless of your position:
WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR TRANSPARENCY
If you don’t know, say you don’t know. Maybe you should know, maybe you wish you did know. But, if you do not know and you make up an answer or tell people what you think they want to hear, it limits their belief in you. When all of this started I was consistently hearing clients comment, “We [our leadership team] has decided to wait till we know what is happening before we put out a communication to the company.” We are six-plus weeks into this and we still don’t know what is happening. Communication “We don’t know” is better than not communicating at all. About a year ago I was talking with a mid-level manager. He was frustrated that he hadn’t received specific direction from leadership on how to execute a project. I asked him what leadership said when he asked. He commented, “If they wanted me to know, they would have told me.” He threw his hands up, “But no, like everything, they choose to keep me in the dark.” Intrigued, I engaged in a conversation with both him and his leadership where I asked for clarity for the mid-level manager. After some stumbling around and a lot of corporate buzz words shared (think "synergistic results"), I finally said, “It’s ok if the answer is that you don't know what this needs to look like.” I could see the weight lift off their shoulders, but even so, they sheepishly shared that they guess they didn't exactly know. Knowing there wasn’t a pre-destined path provided the permission the mid-level manager needed to figure it out!
If something has changed, acknowledge it! If you gave direction last week and since then, new evidence has come to light, acknowledge it - “Last week we stated ____ and I realize this new statement conflicts with that information. We just found out ____ and that is guiding this new decision.” Everyone knows things change. Especially during times like this. We are required to be agile. But ignoring what you said last week? Everyone is thinking it and they will respect and trust you more if you talk about the elephant in the room.
If you have information about someone that impacts them, share it. Holding back information about a specific individual (or a group of people) that directly impacts them puts everyone (even you) in a position that limits effective next steps. A client is moving one of her employees into a different role and it will change this employees reporting structure. This individual’s new supervisor is feeling a little uncomfortable taking ownership of the new role, especially because the new reporting structure has not been articulated. When talking with the current supervisor, she said she hopes “he will just figure it out - I’m giving him lots of clues.” No. That is not helpful. It creates confusion. It limits effectiveness. Capacity ends up absorbed in trying to figure out what is happening vs. on the work that needs to be completed.
If you can’t share, don’t talk about it. There are literally things you cannot share. And that is ok. If you are privy to that information, abstain from bringing it up. If you are asked a question about it, be incredibly honest, “I hope you will understand that information is confidential.” Part of transparency is being clear about what you can, and cannot, be transparent about.
Acknowledge when something didn’t result in the outcome you expected. At the beginning of the Stay-at-Home Order, everyone was attempting to figure out what needed to be true in this new reality. We need to be consistently adjusting and shifting to continue to make everything work. The first week everyone started working from home, one of my client organizations instituted daily meetings - every morning - with your entire department - for an entire hour. It came from a really good place. They knew people wouldn’t have the organic conversations at the office so they wanted to make sure communication was being maintained and projects were continuing to move. Unfortunately, within a few days the teams began to resent these meetings. The agenda was not helpful, the attendance was department, not project specific, and it was limiting the amount of time project teams could work on revenue generating projects. However, leadership was scared to admit that it wasn’t working and risk being seen as a team that wasn’t leading effectively through crisis. However, everyone was already thinking it and that belief (they are not leading effectively through crisis) was only exaggerated because they were unwilling to adapt.
Explain the why. If you haven't watched Simon Sinek's video, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” take the 19+ minutes and watch it. It will reinforce the importance of Starting with Why. If you are asking for people to act, help them understand why you are asking this of them. It builds their commitment to your request opposed to making them just check the box.
Connect more than you think you should. I coach a CEO of a large organization. At the beginning of the Stay-At-Home-Order, he began sending out weekly videos giving everyone an update on the company. A few weeks in I was hearing tremendously positive feedback about the videos. On a coaching call, I shared this positive feedback with him and his response? He said, “Thanks, I think people are really appreciating them but I am starting to feel like I am sending too many. I am thinking about doing them every-other-week.” I was floored! People loved the videos and had expressed their appreciation, and now he wanted to take it away from them! Through the conversation we were able to decipher between his insecurity and the associates needs. I am happy to say he has continued with the videos and the company’s response has been stellar.
Share the outcomes. Transparency isn't just about what you say, it is also about what everyone can see. Through this, we have seen multiple companies implement new habits to help the team/company understand how and what everyone is doing. One organization’s CEO has started reaching out to all associates every Sunday to collect sales numbers (it is about a 20 person organization) and then shares those numbers at their team huddle on Monday. This has given everyone clarity on how the company is doing, allowed the CEO to give feedback and get involved where needed, and incited a bit of friendly competition! It is a practice they have decided they want to continue even once they are all back in the office.
Communication is important. But communication needs to be transparent to build trust, confidence, and commitment. How are you increasing transparency during this time?
