“Trust is typically formed when people do what they say they will do.” – Charlene Li, from Open Leadership
I just finished Charlene Li’s book Open Leadership. The book is a very interesting read that talks about how social technologies are changing leadership and management. It includes several case studies and lots of resources. I enjoyed the book because I totally agree with its premise: social technologies are transforming the way we communicate. And because communication is a big, if not huge, part of leadership and management…it only seems logical that it will change our thoughts about managing and leading.
One communication component that will continue to be a part of leadership and management is trust. Which is why I wanted to share with you Li’s quote from the book. The latter half of that sentence – the “do what you say” part – comes from being transparent.
I know, I know, transparency is an overused and abused term. But we’re going to have to get past that. Understanding transparency is important. Organizations demonstrating transparency will have a competitive business advantage.
Li spends quite a bit of time in her book explaining the concept of transparency. And she specifically discusses what transparency is not. Being transparent isn’t about saying whatever is on your mind. It’s not an excuse to be snarky, rude, mean, hateful, disrespectful or judgmental.
Think of transparency as personal accountability (aka “do what you say”) instead of just brutal honesty. Transparency is about self: self-awareness, self-management and self-discipline. Once we hold ourselves accountable, then we can expect transparency from others and hold them accountable for it. And let me repeat, holding people accountable doesn’t have to be snarky, rude, mean, hateful, disrespectful or judgmental.
I was watching “Top Chef” a few weeks ago. There was an interesting exchange between one of the contestants and celebrity chef/judge Anthony Bourdain. The contestant chastised Bourdain for making fun of him on the show. His point was it’s Bourdain’s job is to critique the food, not toss out snarky remarks for ratings sake. Exactly!
I know what you’re thinking. It’s reality TV. (Please. Don’t judge.) Here’s another example. I was watching football the other night and glancing over at a Twitter chat about business blogs. There were some significant opinions about the need for business bloggers to change their focus from trying to “save the world from itself” to a more personal informational approach. It took me back to Li’s quote on building trust, “do what you say…”
Wonder what business would be like if people spent more time holding themselves personally accountable? A good start is for each of us to hold ourselves accountable and “do what we say”.
Image courtesy of steakpinball
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Kathy Clark says
I totally agree, trust is built on our ability to back up our words with actions. It is a sad truth that leaders often fail to recognize that others are watching everything we say and do. Holding ourselves and others accountable for this is a great first step. Great article.
Margo Rose says
Brilliant post Sharlyn. You are beating the drum that I’ve been beating for a long time. You managed to put into words my very thoughts. I love this post, and I’m retweeting this now to my HireFriday Community. Good call, Sharlyn, good call.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for the kind words and retweets. Most appreciated!
Dianne Crampton says
Trust and being genuine in you response and support of others do go hand in hand. To be genuine, one must trust and to trust one must be confident that sharing one’s perspective does not strike fear in the hearts of those receiving it. To snark, condemn, and ridicule would be untrustworthy actions and the result would be defensiveness and the breakdown of understanding.
In the book TIGERS Among Us – Winning Business Team Culture and Why They Thrive there is a really good discussion on the interrelationship between trust and being genuine on teams and what this means to cooperation and building collaborative communities in organizations. It also gives clear examples of behaviors that build trust and transparency and behaviors that tear these principles down.
Your article does offer a lot of constructive insight.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Dianne – I just realized that I forgot to thank you for your comment and sharing the resource. And I hope you don’t mind that I added the link. Have a great day.