In the workplace, open leadership is becoming more and more important. The company and organisation will do better if they are open and honest. But some people still don’t know much about it or how to be a leader who is open and honest.
In this post, I’d like to talk about how important it is to be a leader who is honest and show you some things that a leader who is honest should have. Now, check them out!
What Does Open Leadership Mean?
Transparent leadership means that the relationship between the boss and the staff is fair, open, and honest. To be more specific, it means that the boss always shares the most up-to-date information and helps his or her team members do the same. A leader who is honest is also open to suggestions and ideas from other group members.
How important it is for leaders to be honest
Why is it important for leaders to be honest? Almost all relationships need leaders who are open and honest. Here are some reasons why it’s important for a leader to have this trait:
Strong Trust
People trust each other most when they are honest. If your team thinks you are a trustworthy and open leader, they will follow you. So, they will put everything they have into the task you give them.
Team members are also happy with their jobs and willing to tell you what they think if there are any problems that come up out of the blue at work.
Cooperation that works
Leadership that is open and honest is a great way to build relationships at work and in the community. Also, businesses can reach the highest level of organisation when they are open and willing to admit both success and failure. So, all employees can feel free to ask for help and support from the company.
Keeping good employees on the job
Talented people are more likely to stay at a job for a long time if the boss is open and honest. Workers always want to be able to share their work in an honest and open company.
For example, Netflix, Heineken, and other large companies with open cultures have a lot of long-term employees. They have no plans to leave and are happy to work as long as they can.
Parts of a Leader Who Is Open
You should know that honesty is very important in any situation. So, it’s time to learn more about the qualities a leader should have to be open and honest. Keep reading, and don’t forget to write down things that could be useful.
Honesty
Honesty is a trait of a leader who is open and honest. When they share, being honest is always more important to them than anything else. People sometimes think we don’t need to be too honest when we have bad news, but it is better to know everything than to hide it.
A good leader also has compassion and understands how hard the truth can be. Even if they don’t want to answer a question or do something, they are willing to tell their partner about it instead of trying to avoid it.
Being open and easy to get to
It’s easy for people to give a leader a lot of bad feedback. If they are honest, they won’t ignore any suggestions at work, even if these suggestions make them sad.
Just give employees and partners as many chances as possible to share their thoughts. And, of course, don’t forget to turn bad things into good ones. In this way, they will respect you. Also, you’re more likely to be able to solve problems quickly.
Asking & Sharing
Do not just answer the employees’ questions! A good leader will know how to ask questions that help their business grow and improve. Also, don’t leave any answer sources out. A leader who is honest will use these questions as a chance to talk to other people.
Not Scared of Hard Work
Many people seem to try to avoid facing and solving their problems. They are afraid to say what they will do or what they think, especially to their boss. Because of this, good ideas might be lost!
But a leader who is honest might be able to make things better. They are not afraid to tell others about their ideas, even if they are in a higher position. They talk about solutions and start taking steps to fix problems.
Choosing things with other people
Transparency is shown not only by listening and sharing, but also by making decisions together. Many studies show that when more people are involved in making decisions, they are more likely to be right and stick to their decisions.
A leader who is honest will know who should be part of the decision-making process and how to bring them in. A good boss also gives his or her employees more ideas to choose from than just the one he or she thinks is best.
Transparent Leader Best Practices
It’s not enough to just know what transparency is. If you want to be a leader who is honest, you need to change yourself right now. In this post, we’ll tell you about 10 things that help you lead others in a clear way.
Don’t be rude.
When you treat other people with respect, they will do the same for you. Also, these staff members are real people who work hard every day to help your business do better. So, whether you are their boss or not, just treat everyone the same, no matter who they are.
As we’ve said, a good leader is willing to give their employees chances to share their ideas and suggestions. So, the first thing you should do is make a place where everyone feels at ease talking about their ideas.
The tip for you is to set up a meeting or even just a dinner once a week at work.
Just be honest.
Telling the truth will make you feel better and bring people together. Whether the news is good or bad, everyone should know about it. It also seems like a chance to hear how others feel and what they think should be done.
Pay close attention
A transparent leader should never forget to listen carefully when talking to people. Also, show people you are honest by making eye contact when you talk to them. If you hear bad news, show that you care because no one wants it to happen.
Let everyone feel like you treat them equally. Talk to them not only about work, but also about themselves, like what they want or what they do for a living. If you connect with your members, they will trust you and think you are an honest leader.
Set Goals
Don’t forget to set a goal that everyone can work towards. Plus, keep track of and report on the progress being made towards them. Make sure everyone agrees that the goal is good and knows what will happen for the better when the goal is reached.
Encouragement
A good leader always knows that doing things together across departments is a way to bring people together. These activities also give people a chance to get to know each other better and have great times at work and elsewhere.
Clear in the Reward-Punishment
As a leader, you should be clear about who you are rewarding or punishing. Tell them in detail why you want to punish or reward that person. Because of this, they will think you are a fair boss and trust your decision.
Admit Failures
It’s hard for a boss to admit they’ve done something wrong. We can’t avoid making mistakes at work, though. Instead of denying them, you should own up to them and try not to repeat them.
Also, be honest with your employees about your mistakes and experiences. This will help them get to know you better.
To be a transparent leader, you shouldn’t hide things or try to make the company and team look better than they are. Give the information so that everyone on staff knows what’s going on.
If you do that, your members will be ready for anything and won’t be surprised by problems that come up out of the blue.
All of these are things about yourself that you should change at work. Let’s look at 5 examples of leaders who are open and honest to help you better understand what I mean.
Real-life examples of leaders who are honest in business
In this section, you’ll learn about 5 people who are known for being honest leaders in big companies. Read on to find out who you know!
Aaron Levie is the CEO and co-founder of Box.
Aaron Levie, who helped start Box, meets with all 150 directors of the company once a week. During the meeting, they talk about the parts of their business that are going well and the ones that aren’t.
He also sets up a way for team members to talk about how the company is doing so they can understand why some parts of the company are struggling and why the leaders need more help and resources than others.
Yvon Chouinard started the company Patagonia.
Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, ran the company for more than 40 years. He is a good example of a leader who is open and honest. He is willing to take the lead in order to make real changes.
The Footprint Chronicles is one of their many honest and ambitious projects. It shows how all of their products affect the environment and how they are made. They let their employees, customers, and the rest of the world know what’s going on with them.
Julia Enthoven is a co-founder of Kapwing and its CEO.
Julia Enthoven, the CEO of Kapwing, doesn’t mind telling stories about how hard it was to start Kapwing in Silicon Valley. She wrote about co-founder conflicts and how to solve them on their company blog. She also wrote about how to hire staff in San Francisco, how to get seed funding, and other things.
She also said that being honest about the fact that things haven’t always gone well in her professional life has helped her get more attention, respect, and money.
Mathilde Collin is the CEO and co-founder of Front.
Mathilde Collin meets with the board of the company every week. The company’s OKRs are then sent to everyone in the organisation, along with feedback from her direct reports, and progress is reported in a weekly email update. Everyone in the company knows what the big goals are, which helps everyone stay focused on what’s important.
Carolyn Kopprasch is the head of Buffer’s special projects.
It’s hard for a remote-only company like Buffer to keep a high level of transparency, but Carolyn Kopprasch has made “default to transparency” one of the company’s three core values.
It means keeping everyone up to date on Slack conversations at work and giving regular updates on how the goals are coming along. The company puts out information about all of its employees, including their salaries and how well they do their jobs.
Last Words
After reading this post, we think you understand how important it is for leaders to be open and honest. Also, if you want to be a clear leader, don’t leave out any of the 10 things we’ve listed above. All members always want to work in a place where people are happy and honest.
