Learning How to Lead with Transparency

Leaders often mistake transparency for publishing high-level documents or financials while keeping the day-to-day work hidden. The article argues that true transparency is content-level: every piece of context, decision rationale, and work artifact should be openly accessible to anyone who needs it. When teams can see the raw work as it happens, they stop relying on gatekeepers for information.

Egos and fear of loss of control keep many leaders from sharing. They claim they are "as transparent as we can be" while privately funneling updates through preferred channels. This creates invisible bottlenecks, forces people to chase information, and erodes trust. The piece highlights that leaders who hoard context actually slow decision-making and increase stress across the organization.

The payoff of content-level transparency is faster, better decisions. By giving experts the full context, leaders move from being the sole decision makers to the enablers of collective judgment. Delegation becomes practical because the team already has the information it needs, reducing delays, politics, and duplicated effort.

To implement it, start by making project discussions public instead of private chat groups, share meeting notes in a shared space, and treat every conversation as a potential source of context. If a team member feels spammed, they can simply leave the channel; the information remains accessible for anyone who needs it. This shift builds trust, cuts down on wasted time, and lets leaders focus on higher-impact problems.