Leadership transparency is key to building the right culture

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 In a conversation within the team, what is the percentage of "leadership issues" that get discussed? I mean challenges arising because of "leadership issues", which do not contribute to the productivity or outcome of the team, and that can pull the team down gradually. "Leadership issues" can take significant mindshare from the team and can be a demotivating factor.

The higher the level at which leadership issues are present, the bigger the impact on the overall organization. This is where having the right leaders at all levels is crucial. What is the key contributing factor for the "leadership issues"? What can be done about it? In this post, let us specifically focus on the transparency. Many of the organisational problems arise from a lack of transparency.

When people feel that the leader is not transparent, there is little trust in the team. This can linger in the team for a long time and pull down the team. Every leader thinks that he or she is transparent. How can the leader determine for himself that he is transparent? How can the leader address the transparency issues?

First, a leader should identify for himself the key leadership principles that he plans to operate under. Communicate the leadership principles to the team. Encourage people to hold him accountable to the principles. When a leader makes an important decision, he needs to align his decisions with the key principles. Leaders should make every effort to communicate to the team the thought process behind their decisions and how they align with the key principles. When the leader does this consistently over a period of time, transparency builds and trust develops. People may not agree with the decision but have a clear understanding of the reasons behind it.

When something is good or bad with the leadership style, it percolates down the organization. This good or bad style gets magnified multiple times, as people down the organisation tend to mould their style based on their leaders. With every decision the leader makes, he has an excellent opportunity to continuously define and shape the culture of the team in a positive way.

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