Leading During a Crisis Part 3: The Role of Transparency
by David Snieg, Assistant Professor and Department Chair
Leading in a crisis is never an easy task to do. Most leaders will admit that they would rather have everything go smoothly than face rough waters. However, as we have been exploring through this series, while it is not possible to always sail in calm waters, it is certainly possible to not have the waters be as rough as they could be. The most recent article discussed trust and its importance when leading during a crisis. This article will deal with another tough aspect of leadership: transparency.
To be upfront, idea of transparency scares many organizations because it comes with an assumption that organizations and leaders must put absolutely everything out to their employees. However, that is not truly the case. If proper transparency is executed correctly, organizations will find their teams trusting each other and those that are meant to lead them during difficult times.
In a crisis, it is important that there be one direction that everyone in the organization can turn to and feel confidence in the decisions being made. Confidence is a direct result of a leader who can be transparent with her/his team and organization. To do so, a leader should not be afraid to be authentic, honest, and communicative.
Looking at authenticity, a leader must be able to demonstrate that they can be themselves while also demonstrating high character. Essentially, the leader should not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk. By doing so, followers within the organization will see someone that will not only create a plan but will also take the necessary action to complete that plan with follow-through.
One of the hardest parts of being a leader is displaying honesty with people. It is not that they want to hide things, but true leaders consider the emotional impact of their message. Ideally, the leader should not be afraid to be honest with everyone that needs to be involved so they can work through the details and potential solutions in a more constructive manner. In times of crisis, a company is struggling, and honesty can lead people back to a safe, trusting environment as they try to navigate the situation in front of them.
By choosing to be honest with people, you can engage in situations such as, “we are currently in this situation and need to achieve this type of outcome in order to get through it.” While this is a general example, imagine being the leader and giving this conversation, it will most likely be freeing because you will not feel like you are hiding anything. On the opposite side of the conversation, the receiver will get a true target of what needs to happen for the situation to be resolved and feel as if they are trusted to aid in the development of the solution.
When exercising honesty, it becomes that much easier, and empowering, to be communicative within an entire organization to lessen the pain of a difficult time. By using authenticity and honesty, a leader should feel more confident in communicating with the organization as the members of the organization will most likely hear the messages with an open-mind and a willingness to invest in the message. It isn’t always about being able to air every details of what is going right and what is going wrong, but to be able to communicate the situation, answer questions, and be reassuring that the right solutions are either being developed or implemented.
As with establishing trust, being transparent is never an easy thing to do. However, a leader that can do both will find it easy to exhibit the topic of the next article, emotional intelligence.
David Snieg is an assistant professor at Stritch and is the department chair of the University’s MBA, Master's of Management & Leadership and Sport & Recreation Business programs.
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