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Is Transparency a Buzzword?

I’ve seen some recent rants about transparency being nothing more than a buzzword.  The implication being, transparency is just a trendy fad.  It got me wondering if it’s true.  So I looked up the word buzzword in the dictionary.  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a buzzword is:

  1. an important sounding usually technical word or phrase often of little meaning used to chiefly to impress laymen
  2. a voguish word or phrase

So, is it possible that transparency could be a buzzword?  Yep.

But I think the more important question is – should it be a buzzword?  And, the answer is no.

Whether you look internally or externally in our organizations, trust is at an all time low. If companies want the trust of their customers and employees, they will have to demonstrate a willingness to be transparent.  Meaning they will have to do it with actions.

Being transparent isn’t a simple declaration.  Organizations who are transparent don’t write memos that say, “In an effort to be transparent…” or start sentences with “In order to be transparent…”  They just understand the need to be open, honest and trustworthy and they conduct themselves in a transparent manner.

I hope for the sake of our businesses and economic recovery, transparency isn’t a buzzword or a trend.  I hope it becomes a standard, an expectation, and, for individuals, a lifestyle.  Let’s not render the benefits of transparency ineffective or lessen its importance by labeling it a buzzword.  Let’s just hold people accountable for practicing it.

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Comments

  1. John Jorgensen says

    Sharlyn,

    Spot on. Too many great ideas degenerate into buzzwords when they should be come words to live by.

    John

  2. Jonathan Hyland says

    What a great post! I heartily agree with all of the points you make. Too often things that should be done consistently are transformed into meaningless corporate jingoism.

    – Jonathan (@jon_hyland)

  3. Margo Rose @HRMargo says

    Transparency can be a good thing, particularly if an organization’s brand is creating buzz in the business environment. Urgh, too many buzz words? I class buzz words with acronyms. They are fun to use, but have limited utility in communicating to people who are not in our industry. Back to the topic of transparency, I agree Sharlyn, it should be a standard, and a policy. After all, we can’t see through opacity. Well written, my friend, this is another great blogpost.
    Sincerely,
    @HRMargo Margo Rose http://hrmargo.com

  6. mkl says

    Great, relevant article!! After 8+ years in restaurant operations, I took some time “off” to explore going down the road of HR. During this time off, I have been serving and while it is a means to an end- I have found it eye opening to be on the other side of the fence. With respect to what you said about a willingness to be transparent, I have often seen managers talk about an “open door policy” and then spend 40-50% of their day sitting in the office behind a CLOSED door. It still seems so silly that it’s not understood the message that that closed door sends!!