Transparency is the state of allowing light to shine through to present a clear look into places and things. Transparency is also linked to honesty. We were taught honesty was the best policy as kids, however when we grow up, it seems more people don’t value honesty much. There is still a place for transparency in your organization. Managers like you need to make your environment more transparent to your employees because it can increase accountability, build a culture of ownership and foster trust. Here are four tactics you can use to integrate transparency.  

Be honest

Being honest is a game of inches for managers—one step too far and you might cross the line and you’re too callous to peers and subordinates. Take one less step and you walk the edge of being deceptive by omission. Honesty is foundational to transparency. It has taken a backseat to politicking to advance careers somewhere along the line, or perhaps it’s always been that way. Provide clarity to your intents with honesty to foster your team’s growth.

Reach out to your employees

Transparency is about open communication. Be proactive in your outreach efforts. Don’t make your employees or yourself an island. Open communication can help prevent silos of work teams that can strain communication. Share your organization’s processes with the team and delegate responsibilities properly. The outreach of communication can develop transparency that encourages teams to be accountable for their performance.

Control your responses

Transparency works both ways. How do you receive honest feedback and suggestions? Do you think you can handle that? Sometimes you might hear things you won’t like (hopefully with all due respect)—perhaps you needed to hear them. You should thank your employees for their honesty because that gesture will provide them transparency about who you are as a leader. Then you will gain more trust from your employees.

Follow up

What good is transparency unless actions follow the words? Open environments need measurements of effectiveness to really work. Measure the outcomes from everything you say and delegate. Being busy is not the same as executing strategically. To sweeten the deal, distribute incentives for desirable outcomes met. These measures will help you ramp up accountability and performance.   Integrating transparency helps unify your team to your leadership for great results. In this environment, both you and your employees are honest and accountable for improving the organization. When you’re transparent about what is going on, it makes teams feel better about what they are doing and about you as a leader.