How Transparent Should Leader’s Decision-Making Be?

Do you sometimes feel you’re doing a tricky balancing act between transparency and discreetness in your decision-making? If you’re too transparent, your team might see you as a vulnerable, weak leader, but if you’re not transparent enough, they’re bound to see you as an adversary rather than an ally. This is why finding the right level of leadership transparency is crucial to effectively managing a team.

To find the perfect level of transparency in your decision-making as a leader, you must be clear about goals, divulge issues faced, and encourage feedback. However, maintain authority by honoring commitments and balancing professionalism and fellowship.

Read on to find out more about striking an outstanding balance between transparency and discreetness and how this can help establish you as a respectable, engaging leader worthy of your team’s trust and respect. We will uncover the signs that indicate a possible flaw in your strategies, and we will also talk about what you can expect to happen if you don’t act on rectifying erratic transparency today. Let’s start!

5 Signs That Your Transparency as a Leader Is Erratic

It’s easy to fall prey to erratic transparency, especially regarding decision-making. Traditionally, this task was set aside solely for team leaders. Employees had no say in whatever choices leaders made for the team, which was completely acceptable.

However, these days, employees appreciate working with relatable, honest, and engaging leaders. They value inclusivity in the workplace, where they make up an integral part of various aspects of business management and operations, including decision-making. After all, the team’s interests are at stake, and it is fair that they become more actively involved.

It takes consistency and a solid resolve to make transparency work. Here are some signs to watch out for that may indicate that you need to amp up (or down) your game:

• Your team repeatedly confirms with you. Nothing breaks trust faster than broken promises. If you have a habit of nonchalantly dishonoring commitments or not pushing forward with what you say, your team will need to constantly validate even the most minor details to ensure that you’re still on the same page.
• The team isn’t aligned. Any mission will fail if not everyone on the team is in sync with each other. If your team members have differing goals, the lack of synergy and efficiency will take a toll on productivity. 
• You have no idea what your team is thinking. Influential leaders know what their team thinks or feels about various aspects of the business. If you find yourself groping in the dark for their insights, it might be a sign that they’re not provided with adequate opportunities to air out their thoughts.  
• A lack of autonomy in your team members. Does your team turn to you before making practically any move? Do you get frustrated with their seeming lack of independence and innovation? It might be a sign that you’re a helicopter leader who has unwittingly trained the team to leave all decision-making processes to their leader. 
• You feel uncomfortable with the lack of deference from some team members. If you feel like some of your employees are beginning to act too buddy-buddy toward you, take it as a sign that you’ve encouraged familiarity within the team a little too excessively.

Consequences of Erratic Transparency in Leadership

A friend told me a story of her colleague, Sara, who attended a week-long conference. During one of the breaks, when everyone gathered around the buffet table to enjoy some snacks, Sara overheard a group of people snickering. Being the curious cat she is, she sidled closer to the group for some good ol’ eavesdropping.

Sara was taken aback when she realized they were talking about her good friend, Steve — they were his team members. She has known Steve since the early days of her career in insurance and investments, and she knew him to be an engaging, nurturing team leader. Unfortunately, unlike Sara, Steve’s team didn’t think he was such a great guy.

They talked about his weakness when making decisions since he always has to ask for other people’s ideas before making any move. They laughed about how he would call for weekly breakfast meetings and indulge them in sumptuous treats so that he could elicit their views on specific issues in the workplace.

Instead of being appreciative of their leader’s efforts in promoting a positive, transparent culture in the workplace, they saw it as a leadership weakness, which they have been taking advantage of. Sara was shocked when one of the guys in the group talked about how he manipulates Steve into making decisions beneficial only to him. 

This is an unfortunate yet relatively common scenario in today’s business settings where modern employees favor working with collaborative, engaging teams. Innovative leaders must know how to balance transparency and discreetness perfectly. Otherwise, they might end up like Steve, whose efforts drastically backfired.

Here are some of the consequences of erratic transparency in leadership:

• Too much transparency
  • Loss of respect for the leader
  • Employee frustration due to the leader’s apparent indecision
  • Loss of team unity
  • Furtherance of selfish ploys
  • Employee manipulation

• Inadequate transparency
  • Poor employee engagement
  • Decrease in team efficiency
  • Low employee morale
  • Poor sense of ownership
  • Dip in productivity

Benefits of Fostering Transparent Leadership

“Two heads are better than one.”

This maxim rings true in the business setting, especially in the decision-making process, where input from several individuals will most likely influence a better-informed, more well-rounded choice. Inclusivity, honesty, and transparency when plotting the business’ trajectory will all come in handy to boost the probability that the best choices will be made.

Inclusivity, honesty, and transparency when plotting the business’ trajectory will all come in handy to boost the probability that the best choices will be made.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits of incorporating transparency in your brand of leadership:

Faster and More Creative Problem-Solving

When more people are working together toward a common objective, chances are progress will be swifter since there will be more ideas brought to the table. These opinions and viewpoints will undoubtedly be unique, and there’s a high likelihood that you won’t come across these if you were working on coming up with solutions by yourself. 

Higher Engagement

Involving your team members in the decision-making process tells them that you trust them and see them as allies in the organization. Recognizing their ideas and viewpoints encourages them to be more invested in their work. This leads to empowered employees eager to cultivate their strengths, function efficiently in their roles, and happily stay with the team. 

Fresh Perspectives 

Studies suggest about 95% of leaders believe they’re self-aware. This leads them to think that they can only make sound decisions independently, even when the outcome impacts many people around them. . 

However, in reality, only about 15% of leaders genuinely are. When solely taking on the decision-making task, they unknowingly miss out on cultural, technical, or experiential viewpoints that may influence better-informed choices.

Inviting others, especially their team members, into the process allows new angles to surface. This helps address certain blind spots that practically every person has and allows for more inclusive choices where the welfare of the majority of the team will be properly considered.

Boost in Productivity

All the aspects mentioned above contribute to establishing a vibrant team, eager to work synergistically toward common objectives. Among others, transparency is one of the key factors in ensuring that the team functions as efficiently as possible. When transparency is apparent in the work culture and relationships are authentic, people feel more driven to collaborate and significantly contribute to the team. 

Benefits of Fostering Transparent Leadership	Description
Faster and More Creative Problem-Solving	When more people are working together toward a common objective, chances are progress will be swifter since there will be more ideas brought to the table.
Higher Engagement	Involving your team members in the decision-making process tells them that you trust them and see them as allies in the organization.
Fresh Perspectives	Inviting others, especially their team members, into the process allows new angles to surface.
Boost in Productivity	When transparency is apparent in the work culture and relationships are authentic, people feel more driven to collaborate and significantly contribute to the team.

Ways To Make Transparent Leadership Work for You

Many people associate being a leader with someone entirely resolute, imposing, and infallible, solely responsible for steering the team in the right direction. Adopting this mindset can be disastrous for the business, not to mention highly taxing for any leader. Nowadays, leadership has evolved into a more engaging role where the main goal is to efficiently lead the way toward growth, stability, and success.

Leadership has evolved into a more engaging role where the main goal is to efficiently lead the way toward growth, stability, and success.

Here are some tips to help you find that perfect level of transparency that your team needs to thrive and succeed:

Clearly Define Goals and Expectations

Openly discuss the future you envision for your business so your team members can see where they fit in the bigger picture. This strong sense of belonging and unity will foster authentic relationships and significantly boost your employee retention rate. 

Be clear about what you expect from your employees as well. Define the whats, whens, hows, and whys clearly so that you and your team are always on the same page. This practice also helps eliminate doubts, misunderstandings, and false assumptions, all hindering smooth-sailing progress for the team. 

Be Honest About Obstacles and Challenges 

Be honest and realistic when dealing with your team members by letting them in on the organization’s challenges. Keeping them in the dark about these unfavorable scenarios will only fuel their doubts in your leadership when the time comes that they come face to face with these obstacles.

Sharing these crucial bits of information sends the message that you view them as valuable allies and assets to the team. This also encourages them to take on more active roles in helping to eliminate problems by striving to develop the best solutions with you. 

Encourage Conflict

Some leaders assume that whatever suits the majority is the best alternative for the team when it comes to making decisions. However, this flawed conjecture will only give rise to superficial, uninspired choices that may not even holistically address issues that need proper attention.

When you invite your team members into decision-making, please encourage them to frame potential glitches, poke holes into proposed solutions, and dive into in-depth assessments. This allows the team to come up with the most well-rounded solutions.

Don’t Cross Boundaries

Transparency in leadership is a tricky subject. Is it really about being completely open and honest with your team so you establish trust sooner and promote an engaging, collaborative vibe in the workplace? But won’t this somehow diminish your authority, especially since you’ll essentially be exposing yourself as a completely empathetic, approachable, and cooperative leader?

Draw a clear line between your professional and personal lives. Too much information sharing can make you lose control of your team. Exposing too much of your vulnerabilities may damage your reputation and diminish your stature as their leader.

Keep Your Promises

Being a transparent leader means you make it a point always to honor your commitments. Sometimes, this can be quite challenging, but you can quickly lose your team’s trust and respect if you have a wishy-washy attitude. When you say something, mean it, and stick to your word so your team knows what to expect from you. 

Being a transparent leader means you make it a point to always honor your commitments.

Ways to make transparent leadership work for you	Description
Clearly define goals and expectations	Openly discuss the future you envision for your business so your team members can see where they fit in the bigger picture.
Be honest about obstacles and challenges	Be honest and realistic when dealing with your team members by letting them in on the organization’s challenges.
Encourage conflict	When you invite your team members into decision-making, please encourage them to frame potential glitches, poke holes into proposed solutions, and dive into in-depth assessments.
Don’t cross boundaries	Draw a clear line between your professional and personal lives. Too much information sharing can make you lose control of your team.
Keep your promises	Being a transparent leader means you make it a point always to honor your commitments.

In this video, Leadership expert Simon Sinek reveals the great misunderstanding about what transparency means.

Final Thoughts

Transparency is critical in establishing a healthy level of trust and respect within the team. At Sancus Leadership, we believe in empowering employees to be more invested and engaged in the business, not just mere followers who deliver what’s expected of them. With transparency, you can be assured that you and your team are always in sync and pushing toward the same goals. 

Inviting your team into the decision-making process improves the quality of alternatives available since more people equates to more viewpoints, skills, and experiences at the table. Strike a balance between the extremes of transparency and discreetness so you maintain your status as the leader.