If you didn’t catch the first three articles in this series, the beginning is always a very good place to start. We’ve covered Accountability, Collaboration, and this final article will center around the clarity that comes when Transparency is introduced in an organization, top to bottom.

Ok, so now you have that culture where accountability thrives. The team knows what to do and gets it done, and you have the confidence in the completion of their work. You KNOW who is doing what, and when. Communication is rich and you’ve stopped using email as the project management tool that it most certainly is not. Getting un-stuck feels good, right? You now have the time to lead, navigate and maybe even plan a summer vacation.

To call transparency the “icing on the cake”, would imply that it isn’t 100% necessary, but let me ask you this, “Who in the heck wants cake with no icing?” However you take your cake, organizational transparency is essential to employee empowerment, productivity, and it fosters a positive image publicly as well as internally.

Transparency is clarity and clarity allows for vision. Seeing your business at the highest level.  The ability to look at the top and bottom line with perspective. Seeing the full landscape; no more forests and trees. Traditionally, this has been the vantage point of the few at the top of the ladder. Now, with all we know about organizational transparency, information no longer pools at the top of the ladder to trickle down.  

Transparency is like a zipline. You go through the hard work of climbing to the top of the platform and when you get up there, you find the view is breathtaking.  You’re above the tree line; you can see the horizon.  You totally get the metaphorical sense of clarity. You can see for miles…you can see where you’re going, and where you’ve been. And it gets better. You strap in…and launch! The acceleration is exhilarating, forward movement in pre-defined direction.  This is how your business should be.  Moving fast with a clear vision.  

The power to ACT – Accountability, Collaboration, and Transparency.  No more losing sleep wondering if the nuts and bolt are in place, no more notes to grandma, no more being lost in the forest. If you’re dealing with systems, be they internal, external, or purchased software, … whatever you do, remember the principle of the power to act.