What does transparency mean?
Being transparent is being clear with somebody whether it’s right or wrong, or indifferent while being honest is being truthful. When speaking to your employees about a certain problem they have with their productivity. You may think it will hurt the person’s feelings and give them a bad day. If you’re being honest, then yes, it should because you’re stating facts and that’s how it should be. No matter how challenging being transparent and honest you are toward your employee, you should still be open to both personal and professional relationships to strive.
In terms of business and leadership, it plays a big role to be transparent and not just set expectations. When you know your employees are making mistakes, it is your job to let them know as soon as possible. Let them know the consequences of continuing their way, the more transparent you are the easier it is going to be in the long term. People will often avoid being transparent because it can be easier in the short term in certain situations, but you’re eventually prolonging something that should have been fixed earlier.
Times where businesses lack transparency
There will be times in your business when somebody will get upset or your system can get messy. At the end of the day, these are factors that are part of the business. If an employee decides to quit then it was just a matter of time, and you as the owner will probably rebound a lot better out of that loss. There are two types of transparencies in business, it’s either your employee has problems with how they work or their overall health. You have the ability to assess these types within your employees. If you don’t be straightforward with your employees, then eventually, it will affect your business in a negative way.
Lack of communication will make it harder for you and employees to work in the same workplace. You can’t try a new model or system for your business, without informing your employees. This is because your ideas won’t take effect and will make it harder for you to achieve what you want. You can always try to let your employees know about how well the business is doing by informing them about the risks, how difficult the decision was to do, and the value of the job for your business goal.
When it comes to employees asking for a higher paycheck because you are making more. You can give them an idea of what you had to go through to make that profit. For starters, you’re the one taking the most risk and with that risk, you may lose in profit and revenue. Other employees may get jealous of their colleagues because they are getting a raise or a higher position, but you have to explain or make it clear how that employee achieved that. This is through announcing what that employee did for the company or how that person brings a lot more value and revenue than others.
Areas in life where you can be transparent
Being transparent in yourself allows you to live a happier life. You won’t feel like there will always be conflict in every decision you make in your business. Subconsciously, you know that there are milestones in your business that will get you stuck and have lower productivity, but that’s how businesses work. The decisions you make and the way you talk to your employees can always make an impact in the long term. You may struggle thinking about the approach but it will always be hard to do in the beginning. You can’t always settle for short-term solutions and forget about it, because eventually that problem will return or continue to happen to leave a larger problem for you to face.