Transparency provides clarity, through being open and honest, which leads to understanding. When you communicate in a transparent way, it can have a huge impact on how others take certain actions and decisions. Different from clear communication, which focuses on delivering essential information, transparent communication involves a deeper understanding.
The question is, how transparent should you be?
What happens if you are too transparent or not transparent enough?
While transparency is important, when one is either not giving enough information or excessively giving too much information, it could contribute to:
- Difficulties in setting priorities
- Challenges in making accurate decisions
- Misunderstandings and confusions
How to achieve balance in transparency?
Be honest, clear and concise
Conveying messages through transparent communication requires someone to be vulnerable and straightforward. This involves your own thoughts, feelings and experiences. When sharing information, ensure to provide the necessary context to ensure the audience understands the purpose behind the communication. For example, there is a situation where your team does not meet your expectations, but you also struggle to find solutions to it.
Firstly, be clear about what is expected and what possible factors are causing the outcome. Then, address the possible factors and tell the team that you want to work together to identify the problem. Make them feel included and important by saying that their ideas, opinions and suggestions are important to address the challenges. By doing this, the audience will feel valued and empowered to contribute actively to addressing the challenges.
Knowing what should be transparent about
Sharing information that is irrelevant will create distrust, misunderstandings and rumors. There are certain things about which you should be transparent to a certain extent. Being transparent also aids in effective decision-making. Including others while practicing transparency will create an effective decision-making process. Not only will others contribute meaningfully, but it will make the decision quicker and more confident.
For instance, as a leader, you should be transparent about goals, current performance, decision-making process, ethical practices, and feedback and changes that affect the team. This will help the team trust you, know what is expected of them, boost motivation and help them understand what is happening.
Avoid unnecessary details, such as giving out information that does not require the audience to understand. This can make people disengaged. For example, your company produces health supplements and provides information on how traditional practices is done back then. Explaining excessive details could cause confusion for consumers. Its irrelevance is not useful to use in the modern world.
Other unnecessary details could include:
- Confidential information,
- Pending or unconfirmed plans
- Speculations about others
- Rumors or conflicts
- Failures (unless for learning purposes)
Conclusions
Achieving the right balance in transparency is crucial for effective communication. While transparency is essential for building trust, the right amount of transparency is the key towards preventing confusions and misunderstandings. To strike the right balance, be honest, clear, and concise. Share relevant information and avoid unnecessary details. As a leader, be transparent about key aspects such as goals, performance, decision-making processes, and changes that affect the team. This will help build trust, align expectations, and empower your team to contribute meaningfully.
