Transparency in an Organization and Selling the Vision
Consider the following two scenarios:
Scenario 1:
Employees work in an atmosphere of distrust and fear. Leaders make decisions behind closed doors.
Changes to processes and staffing often occur unexpectedly without warning or explanation. A few select
people are given information and guard it jealously. Most employees do not get an opportunity to give
input or feedback.
Scenario 2:
Employees work in a small company where everyone knows everything about everyone and the rumor
mill runs rampant. Leadership gives both praise and reprimands in public. They frequently discuss
employees� personal affairs.
These scenarios illustrate two extremes of transparency in business. Maintaining the right degree of
transparency is a challenge for many organizations. Some leaders operate their organizations with an
open-book management style. Others believe in carefully maintaining the security of information. Leaders
must determine the appropriate level of transparency necessary for their organizations to stay healthy.
To prepare:
�Consider your experience with transparency of information and decision making in organizations of
which you have been a part, such as a business or a school.
By Day 3 of Week 8, post an evaluation of the appropriate use of transparency in an organization. Explain
what you believe to be the most appropriate level of transparency for an organization. Within your
explanation, identify any instances in which transparency would not be a good strategy. Also, explain how
a leader might exert influence using transparency.
Be sure to include at least one additional scholarly reference to support your response.
TRANSPARENCY IN AN ORGANIZATION AND SELLING THE VISION 2
Transparency in an Organization and Selling the Vision
Working environments constitute of situations with transparency, though some of the
environments lack transparency at all. The following article engages in demonstrating the
importance of transparency in an organization. The paper also addresses scenarios where selling
the vision had been effected.
Being at Wise High School for eight years, I was given the mandate to head it. As the
principal, I encouraged the aspect of collective responsibility. The teachers and non-teaching
staff at the school had the priority of knowing everything about everyone and the rumor mill ran
rampant. My leadership gave both praises and reprimands in the school. I introduced a forum
where the teaching as well as non-teaching staff frequently discussed their personal affairs
(Doughlas, 2009). Their conclusions were to be forwarded to me for consideration.
This was contrary to previous administration where the staff worked in an atmosphere of
distrust and fear. The previous principal made decisions behind closed doors. The administration
was frequented by unexpected changes to processes and staffing, often without prior warning or
explanation (Doughlas, 2009). I had observed that the previous regime had a few select people
TRANSPARENCY IN AN ORGANIZATION AND SELLING THE VISION 3
who were given information and guarded it jealously. Most employees did not get an opportunity
to give input or feedback.
By Day 3 of Week 8, I observed a tremendous change in the administration. There was
active participation by the members in decision-making. Significantly, there was a rampant
success in meeting goals on time. At one time, I was held accountable to explain the building
project in the school. These changes trained me to avoid mistakes in future (Doughlas, 2009).
Nevertheless, I identified instances in which transparency was not a good strategy to my
leadership. One of the instances is disclosure of important secrets to the members (Christina, &
Monica, 2008). This is because, in any project, there must be opponents. Having a proposal to
build a storey building in the school was vividly opposed by some members who were actually
cynical about my leadership. Another instance is that the increased transparency required
additional time and resources at all organizational levels. In addition, I realized that transparency
created organizational susceptibleness and invited the formation of special groups that felt
underrepresented by the relationship (Christina, & Monica, 2008). From my experience as a
principal at Wise High School, I realized that a leader might exert influence using transparency
by listening to criticisms from opponents, but not acting immediately to their proposals. An
intelligent leader has to incorporate the virtual of accountability in the leadership.
Selling the Vision
Leadership is the process that involves enriching a person’s vision to higher levels, the
raising of a person’s achievements to a higher status, and creating of a personality beyond its
standard limitations. Enacting a vision is one of the defining attributes of leadership. Academics
and business leaders alike seem to confirm to the sentiment (Guy, 2011). There are some
TRANSPARENCY IN AN ORGANIZATION AND SELLING THE VISION 4
occurrences where some leaders communicated a vision for their organizations, gained
widespread adoption of that vision, and translated it into organizational success. An example of
such leader is Carner Lumber, who sells lumber and general building supplies to building
contractors in a medium-sized town in Montana. Lumber was able to enact a vision,
communicated it, gained adoption, and translated it into success (Guy, 2011).
Leadership strategy for translating a vision into organizational success involves a leader
adjusting it as conditions require (Guy, 2011). This is by ensuring that people align their actions
closely with the course and route, implementation patterns, and priorities dictated in the strategic
planning process (Guy, 2011). The following are the eight steps on how to communicate
strategy, get others within the organization to adopt it as their own, translate that vision into
measurable objectives, and to measure whether those objectives have been met:
- Garnering the raw materials – this step involves definition of mission statements, goals
and objectives, plan of action and the organization profile. - Identification of who need to act for one to achieve success: In this step, each and every
individual is given his or her own area of specialization. - Listing of actions each group or individual must take. This step deals with complete
dispensing of responsibilities, in that members are aware of what is expected by their
leader. - Decision on what information each must have to take the desired actions. Leaders engage
in advising how, what, why, and when the strategy is going to take place.
TRANSPARENCY IN AN ORGANIZATION AND SELLING THE VISION 5
- Developing of an excellent communication approach for each audience – In this step, type
of messages to be transmitted and the presentation media to be used, are decided. - Deliverance of the messages – This involves decision about disclosure of information to
other members so as to have a holistic combination of ideas in the realization of
objectives. - Verifications of whether the audience understands the messages – This step ensures that
the message sent to the group is the same one they are working on. - Reinforcements of communication at programmed regular intervals – In this step, top
management is encouraged to reinforce the communication of the strategy constantly in
an analogy of ‘walking the walk’ and ‘talking the talk’.
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References
Christina, G., & Monica, L. (2008). Transparency in a new order: unveiling organizational
visions. Cheltenham, U.K.: Northampton, M.A.: Edward Elgar.
Doughlas, C. (2009). The paradoxes of Transparency: Science and the Ecosystem Approach to
Fisheries Management in Europe. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Guy, R. (2011). From vision exit: the entrepreneur’s guide of building and selling a business.
Hampshire, U.K.: Harriman House
